Untamed Hearts of Destruction
by Pinklove21
Summary: That raging fire, it's in our blood. It engulfs our hearts and minds, and we can struggle to prevent it from taking over, but it always wins. Why? Because we were born for this, because it's our fate. The only thing left to decide is whether we will allow it to ignite our path to greatness or destroy us entirely. And somehow…I think it might end up doing both. G/K, some Kato.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer before I forget for the entire story: I never have owned the Hunger Games and I look nothing like SC.**

* * *

"Has the mighty truly fallen so far as to lead us here?" I question him with a quirked eyebrow as he stands, hesitating at what well could be the gates of hell. It certainly feels like it as the heat seeps into me from seemingly nowhere and yet from everywhere in this dry scorching place.

"Of course not." He rolls his eyes at me, and ignores our companions as well as me as he looks out on the landscape which is to be the crime scene of everyone except one, namely me. Because like hell am I going to be the one dying in this place, that's for sure. I volunteered, but not to die. Not in here anyway.

"Really? So your big plan is to wait here? Good one." One of our allies adds, sarcasm dripping from his tone. In truth I'm not entirely sure why he would lead us here for this big plan he has to kill off tributes because why would they come here? No, it must be something else. Come on, think. Think like _him_. Why would he bring our alliance here of all places in this arena?

And then…I believe I'm formulating why. I can reason like him, I can tell how his mind works. After all, I've been around him long enough, and his motives have always been the same; Brute force and pain. Win. It's stupid, but he's dumb enough not to realize that I have brains on my side even though I've always done better than him in school.

He thinks that I only have one thing to think about. He thinks it makes me weak, and maybe in a way it does. It's not a conventional motive for people like us, but I don't think it makes me weak in the way he thinks. In fact, I believe it only makes me stronger. I have people to get back to back in the District and someone else much closer, someone just as important if not more than them. I have a drive that will give me the extra push to win even if he happens to be the only one aware of it in this arena.

"Silly boy, why else would you bring us to this place of burning agony?" I chuckle darkly under my breath, loud enough for the group to hear me who all watch me in half interest and half…not quite afraid, but definitely wary. With good reason surely, but I guess this isn't the time to clue them in. Breaking the alliance now is as good a time as any, and I don't plan on being part of the death toll this evening like most of this group will be.

"Why indeed?" he smiles at me like he wants everyone to think I'm in on his plan, but I can see it in his eyes. He's pissed as ever and the rage is about to explode, I can feel it. I sense some smart ally backing slowly out of the group, but I'll let it slide for now; if they're wise enough to know when to run then they probably have earned the right to live a few more days.

And I'm about to answer when a parachute floats down about twenty yards away, stealing everyone's attention from the cryptic and yet obvious intentions of this conversation in this forsaken desert. The group stares at the innocent silver bundle for a moment before gliding over together to see what we have acquired, but every sense and nerve in my body are telling me to run. That this is not safe for me, and I already know his objectives. And so I walk over with the rest and silently take a few steps backwards when the group is occupied, making a run for it for the nearest cover, a bush line that we emerged from not five minutes ago to watch what happens next.

And like I predicted, all hell breaks loose in this almost literal hell, a poetry scripted by the slightly demonic brute himself probably as soon as we discovered the area. He was never the cleverest boy, but he always knew how to put on a good show; the Capitolites would be getting a kick out of this.

A silver parachute floats softly to the ground

A weapon and a symbol to break what must be broken

Grunts and cries of pain in the scorching heat

Making blood flow sickening and hot as it passes on sweaty skin and sands

The instigator terrorizing and shedding the most blood by his own hands

Deaths of three on his shoulders eventually

But the whole time he's outraged, looking around

For me. The one he truly wanted to destroy.

And so while he is occupied severing any ties we had left to each other, I slip away from the death and fires of hell to watch, wait, and kill when necessary, almost hoping that we are the last to live. Because it would be an honor to kill the brute myself, the one who has caused me so much anger and pain himself for all these years. But how could he know of this grudge? I'm just a girl who volunteered for the Hunger Games, right? For her sister.

Wrong. I'm his worst nightmare.


	2. The Norm

_**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**_

_Qui audet adipiscitur-he who dares, wins-Latin Proverb_

_**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**_

Katniss's POV

Relaxing my breathing so it calms me in the soothing and yet necessary way when I catch sight of my prey, I nock the arrow and pull back, tensing before I'm ready for the perfect aim at the unsuspecting rabbit. It's not really necessary to wait this long usually, but I know that the consumer of this poor thing will want the fur as close to undisturbed as normal for her new hobby of fur coats and boot liners, and I've found that she's a lot nicer to deal with happy. Not a big surprise, she's always been sort of a bitch. But a bitch that won the Hunger Games, and I'm not going to question her too much if it gets me that too.

And as I'm about to release the perfect aim right at the eye, something zips past my vision in the corner of my eye and lands itself in the neck of the rabbit, startling me and yet at the same time angering me.

"Hey, what the hell?" I glare mockingly and yet a bit angry at the bowman walking my way with a playful smirk gracing his face. "That was mine."

"Keep it. I don't need it anyway." He shrugs and I roll my eyes at him, relaxing the bow in my hands.

"Getting a little cocky there, aren't we?" I raise an eyebrow, though I secretly sort of like it. I'd guess he knows that though since he repeatedly does it, but always in a playful manner.

"Alright, well you need it more than I do." He grins and crosses his arms, now only a few feet of distance between us. "Fangula likes her dying animals fresh for her appetite, now doesn't she?"

"Ha ha, very funny Gale." I roll my eyes at his nickname, one he's called her for years now. Enobaria hates the nickname that went around the Academy like lightning when we were kids and she's never figured out who started it. And while I could easily rat Gale out for it and probably should since she's my personal trainer and all, what it comes down to is that I like Gale better. Besides, what she doesn't know won't hurt her anyway.

"Well I try." He smiles at me, following me as I go to collect the rabbit and take out the arrow, finally realizing what I should have the moment he came into my line of vision.

"What are you doing here?" I question him as he reaches for his arrow, but I hold it hostage behind my back until I get answers.

"Spending time with my best friend. Or does she not like me anymore?" he answers and I give him a half smile but it's still not answering the question.

"No, I mean you're supposed to be with Jayant." I exclaim.

"It's Sunday." He shrugs it off and reaches for the arrow behind my back but I take a step backwards, keeping it out of his grasp.

"Yeah, and it's only a month before the Hunger Games; you don't have a day off. Jay's going to kick your ass for being late." I remind him and he hides an eye roll from me.

"Jay will get over it." He insists flippantly, taking the arrow from me quick before leaning down to get some moss to clean it with.

"Gale!" I half yell at him, sure that I'm scaring any of the animals off anywhere near here but I don't care. "I don't care how crazy he is, you need to be there for _you_."

"I've done plenty in the last twelve years at the Academy without him; I think I can handle the arena." He rolls his eyes, and I sigh. Gale just has to be such a rebel. Normally I would be fine with him just spending the day out here with me, but I know he needs to be there. Because while he has every confidence that he's going to be the Victor and I believe in him too, any bit of training helps. Besides the other obvious fact…

"I'm sure you can." I admit, and he looks at me in half surprise though I don't know why. Maybe he just thought I was being sarcastic, which I guess wouldn't exactly be out of character for me. "But you're going to be one of Enobaria's new rugs if your dad finds out you're here instead of training."

Gale groans a little at the reminder but he seems almost panicked about it, placing his hands on my shoulders and forcing me to look at him. "Did they come out today? Or do you think he's home and Jay's going to come over to my house to haul my ass over there?"

"Both." I inform him. "Jay will probably do that, but your dad and mine are in here somewhere. I went off on my own because they had to leave earlier than I did. Something about an emergency meeting in SIM."

"Ugh." He sits down frustrated with himself and the situation. Clearly he wants a day off and I don't blame him, but he knows the consequences. And I already know that's going to overrule anything.

I sit down in front of him though his hands are burying his face so he can't see me, but I know he can sense me. With a soft sigh, I place a hand comfortingly on his knee before speaking. "Come on Gale. Just a few more weeks and you'll be in the Capitol and that's your game. No matter what Jay wants you can do whatever you want in there."

"Still doesn't mean I want to go to training." He murmurs, and brings his hands down from his face, squeezing the top of my hand on his knee once before I take my hand back.

"Tell you what? If you go now I'll kidnap you sometime this week and we'll do something outside of training." I offer, and he smiles a little.

"Promise?"

"Yep." I reply, my mind spinning at my attempts of how I could pull it off and get past the sly Victor they call Jayant, but I figure some burst of inspiration will come to me. I was never the best at following plans anyway; just going with it seems to work just fine for me.

"Thanks Catnip." He grins as he stands up and gives me a hand, brushing the dirt off his pants and adjusting his bow on his shoulders, clearly still procrastinating.

"Gale…" I give him a warning tone, and he just gives me a challenging smirk as to say 'make me leave.' I'm failing at my attempts to push him away as he laughs when a voice calls through the forest.

"Katniss?"

Gale freezes at the voice and swears under his breath. With a sigh and a quick goodbye, he sprints silently through the woods in the opposite direction of the voice calling for me as I smile and shake my head in his direction.

"Katniss?" the voice calls again, this time louder and therefore nearby.

"I'm right here, Dad." I call back, gathering the rabbit at my feet and slipping it into my bag as he and Marcus Hawthorne catch sight of me.

"There you are." My dad says as he walks over to me, putting his bow away. "We have to leave now for that meeting so we were wondering if you could check the snare line yourself."

"Yeah, sure." I shrug, knowing I don't have much better to do today anyway. Sundays are the only day I get off of school and training but I did promise Prim that I would play cards with her later, her new favorite thing to do when she's not out saving dogs and cats from the streets. But as long as I come home a few hours before dinner that shouldn't be a problem and the snare line will only take me two hours at most.

"Great." Marc smiles, handing me a partially done snare that his fingers had been fiddling with. I glance down at the twine in my hand and know that no matter how long Gale has been trying to teach me how to do snares, I will never quite be able to get these complicated ones right. But I'm a better shot with a bow than he is so I guess that evens us out just like our dads. "Just place this one maybe fifteen yards from the last in our line somewhere. Ryder's been wanting more lately." He informs me and I nod. Ryder is a peacekeeper here in our district, one of my dad and Mr. Hawthorne's old friends from back in training.

Because they loved hunting but it wasn't exactly legal, they made a deal with Ryder once he went to training to be a Peacekeeper after he graduated that they would bring food to his squad as long as they covered them. It's worked well for the past nineteen years or so but it seems that Ryder's getting greedier or someone on his team is. Either way, it seems a small price to pay for this hobby of ours so I really don't mind.

"Shoot anything?" my dad asks me and I nod, showing him the rabbit on my belt. He glances over it and looks a bit surprised. "You didn't get the eye?"

Crap, why did I show him? He knows that I almost never miss the eye just like he taught me. I shake my head and come up with some lie to cover Gale, hoping it's good enough. "I got distracted by a hawk that ducked down low as soon as I let the arrow go."

"Well as long as it didn't take you away with it." Marc smiles and he and Dad laugh. I inwardly breathe a sigh of relief but laugh quietly with them, glad they seem to believe it.

"Like I'm not competition for a bird." I counter, mocking offense at the very thought that a stupid bird could take me away though I know he was joking. With a wave goodbye and my dad's promise that he'll be home for dinner, I go off to start on the snare line to collect anything we've caught.

Two and a half hours later (because it took me a while to figure out where to put the new snare because I know I don't have Gale or his dad's touch on knowing exactly the best place to put a snare) I'm loaded down with three additional rabbits to my own, three wild turkeys, and two squirrels as I go to our spot where we enter and exit the fence that's always turned on except for there, struggling a bit with the weight. This is actually a regular haul for the snare line but I'm not normally bringing everything back myself. Always I'm with at least Gale and sometimes on Sundays my dad, but it's nothing I can't manage. Training at the Academy with weights at least helps with this.

Once there, I'm not surprised to find the deal making Peacekeeper Ryder waiting for me, as I should have met him here probably fifteen minutes ago with his payment for keeping us safe. He grumbles a little as I hand him two rabbits, the turkeys, and one of the squirrels but let's me go with not much more than that luckily. I guess he's letting me get by with being late to meet him because he sees that I'm by myself, and for that I'm grateful. Peacekeepers really aren't people to mess with, especially ones that have been there most of their twenty year contract. The longer you're there the more power you get it seems, and they can get a bit power hungry sometimes. But it's for the Capitol so I guess they think that they get more rights since they're practically a Capitolite as a peacekeeper. I've heard of a few that even recontract and get assigned to President Snow himself.

I actually know a few peacekeepers myself even though I'm only sixteen, but none of them work here because they're assigned to other districts. They're people mostly from the Academy that are three, four, five years older than me who weren't chosen to volunteer for the Hunger Games that didn't want to just work in masonry or something else and weren't smart enough to get a job at Special Intelligence Mountain, otherwise known as SIM where dad and Marc work. He can't talk much about his job on Capitol orders, but I do know that he does something with weaponry. It makes sense in a way I guess, because training for twelve years for something you never end up using all of your skills…it's a good way to continue it at least in some way. Besides the illegal way we do it of course, but working at SIM's Weaponry department is a good way to go. Maybe I'll try to get a job there if I don't go into the arena myself.

Going to the Hunger Games is something of an honor, or at least here in District 2. The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals, usually just referred to as the Academy, is where future tributes for our district are trained. It's only a fancy name because it's technically not allowed for people to be trained for the Hunger Games, but our District has been doing it for almost seventy years now and everyone knows it. District 1 and District 4 do it too I know from the classic alliance in nearly every Hunger Games since the first decade that they began, and since the Capitol seems to like that there are people who can actually fight with skill no one stops us from doing it. Honestly, I don't know why the other districts don't train; it's clear that the trained districts have the most skilled tributes and the outcome is the most Victors, so why not give their tributes the best chance? Why even bother putting tributes to chance? It seems stupid and almost selfish in a way, to not train them just because they don't want them in the arena in the first place. In my opinion, our district does it right.

The Academy is not for everyone; the Victors and the Council for the Academy know this. Therefore, the process is for kids in our district to be untouchable until they go to school at age five and for that first year, all students at our five schools here in District 2 are observed. At the end of the school year about thirty kids (usually about fifteen girls and fifteen boys) are invited to the Academy out of all the kids in that grade and if they accept they begin going to classes at the start of the next school year after school. Once those kids get older they do more intense training and it often becomes more obvious by the age of twelve or thirteen who has it in them to be a volunteer for the Hunger Games, but not always. If a Victor sees good potential in you they offer to train you one on one a few times a week and if you are chosen to volunteer in one of the upcoming Hunger Games, the training becomes more intense as that Victor becomes your mentor. Often as soon as both tributes are chosen for a Hunger Games they begin co-training together to become more of a team for the arena to better guarantee that our district is awarded a Victor.

This is why our system is so good in my opinion. The ones that don't have what it takes to be a tribute much less a Victor don't ever go into the arena because there is always someone trained to go in their place, and therefore much of the District is safe. Reaping Day is a day of celebration because everyone knows who the tributes are going to be already, and the families of those lucky tributes are happy for their child's honor. Or well…usually we know who the tributes will be. Not always because of the list.

Naturally not everyone who trains at the Academy gets chosen to be a volunteer, there's just too many of us and only two tributes per year. Maybe fifty years ago the Council realized that they were having trouble keeping people at the Academy because as soon as they chose who would volunteer many of the other kids would quit, knowing that there wasn't really a point to being there anymore because they would never get a chance to be a tribute. And so Matteus Bain, the Victor of the third Hunger Games and District 2's first Victor, came up with the list.

The list is where all of the trained kids at the Academy between the ages of sixteen and eighteen with an occasionally honored fifteen year old are on the list of names that if one gets reaped, they have the choice whether to allow the chosen volunteer for those Hunger Games to actually volunteer for them or not. Since they were the ones reaped and they feel like they should have received the honor of volunteering, they get the chance to prove themselves. It sucks for the volunteer, especially if they're eighteen and they lose their shot, but it's definitely a motivation for those kids to keep coming to the Academy.

And yet the list has only been taken into effect maybe four times since it was inducted but it still keeps people there. Every time the reaped Academy kid decided that they were going to be the tribute much to the volunteers' anger (naturally) because they wanted their chance to shine. And only once has someone from the list actually pulled off nabbing the Victor crown; none other than Gale's mentor, Jayant Tiber. Jay came from a particularly talented class of Academy students and he was overshadowed by brute masses that he paled to physically with his more lean and tall structure. But he was lucky enough to be reaped when he was eighteen and took his opportunity. It turned out one of his best weapons was his slyness, slinking out of the alliance without anyone else even seeing him while they fought and when they were occupied fighting, slit two of their throats before sneaking away into the bushes and disappearing before the rest of the alliance could find him. His creepily silent tread and general blandness allowed him to go unnoticed by many tributes, and in the last four days of his Games he travelled the arena slitting throats, sometimes in the tributes' sleep. Most of them never even saw him coming and in no time at all he was crowned Victor of the fifty-ninth Hunger Games. Jayant gives all of the list kids hope that they can do the same, and so the list continues.

Guess it's a good thing since currently it's all I have. Enobaria's been training me one on one for a year and a half now but that doesn't always mean anything. Usually the Victors pick four or five people to train at a time and while that gives them a better shot at being chosen to volunteer, I'm trying not to get my hopes up. Besides, Enobaria is far more interested in her current mentee that will be Gale's district partner, seventeen year old Clove Riley. They chose her almost two years ago to volunteer for these games almost solely on her wicked ability at throwing knives. I swear ever since that girl turned twelve she never missed the target and rarely misses the bull's eye no matter how or where she throws it from. She was the example for my knife throwing class a few years ago and even though I think I have great skills, specifically with a bow and I'm pretty good at knives, I can admit I have nothing on her in that area. She'll be a good partner for Gale but I still don't think she can beat him, not in the least.

"Katniss, there you are! I thought that you were going to be home earlier to play Blackjack with me." Prim's voice says, and I look up to find that my feet brought me home without me even thinking about it. She's pouting a little because I am late, but she doesn't look too upset.

"Sorry, little duck, they made me do the snare line by myself because they had a meeting." I explain to her and luckily she just frowns a little before shrugging and with a smile tugging me inside.

"Well come on then. Give dinner to mom and we'll play until it's time to eat." She orders me and I have to smile at her, shaking my head. Since when is my twelve year old sister in charge of what I do? But I do spoil her I guess, feeling guilty that I don't get to spend time with her as much as I should. She doesn't go to the Academy (she's pretty squeamish when it comes to killing actually) and is most definitely more like my mother in every way from her not liking the Hunger Games ,to wanting to help everyone and everything she comes across, and even by looks with her baby blue eyes and ash blonde hair where as I'm more like our dad. Like me, he went to the Academy and we both have dark hair and grey eyes. It seems strange to have such different people in the same household but that's just the way it is in my house.

"Katniss has dinner, mother!" Prim calls to the kitchen as she lets my hand go and half skips to the living room to set up the card game while I turn into the kitchen, finding my mother taking out pots and spices.

"What did you get?" she asks me without looking up, crouching behind the counter and coming up with a pot to cook vegetables in.

"I have a rabbit for us and a squirrel for Dad." I tell her, my game bag landing on the counter with a thump as I place it between us. "I'll need the fur from the rabbit though for Enobaria."

At that she stops what she's doing and looks up at me with a frown. "I just don't understand why you give her them. We could buy something with that fur, you know."

I huff in frustration, keeping back the eye roll I desperately want to give her. This isn't the first time we've had this argument and it's kind of vexing that she constantly brings it up. "If it keeps her happy then she'll be nicer to me." And that, in my opinion, is much more important than a few oranges or lemons that I could trade for the fur at the black market here in District 2 in the basement of a restaurant called Joey's. Enobaria being less bitchy in training is far easier to deal with, besides the fact that keeping on her good side might mean that she recommends me to volunteer in one of the next two Hunger Games. The volunteers haven't been chosen yet for either aside from the boy tribute for the Quarter Quell next year, and I'd love a shot at one of those two potential spots. And if raising my chances means keeping Fangula happy with whatever weird hobby she decides to take on, I'll do it.

"You shouldn't need a reason to make her happy anyway." She mutters bitterly and with a small groan I somehow don't stomp out of the kitchen on my way out. Mother just doesn't understand.

* * *

"Come on Everdeen, I know you can throw better than that!" Enobaria yells as sweat coats me in the heat of this training room. To train people for different weather conditions in the arena the Victors have the ability in this particular training room to turn the temperature to anything from a freezing cold negative forty or so to a scorching desert heat of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. And at the moment, it's a rather toasty 105 and she's having me throw knives. I'm usually pretty good but the sweat on my hands which isn't making this any easier is making the knives slip and I've unfortunately missed the target a few times.

Throwing again and trying not to concentrate on the warmth or the sweat, I throw three in a row and they all land on the target this time, one on the bull's eye and the other two pretty close to it.

"Better." Enobaria nods as she cools herself off with a portable fan, going to take out the knives for me.

"Katniss Everdeen?" I hear someone call my name, and wiping my forehead which is dripping sweat I turn to the door to see two guards for the Academy in their black uniforms right outside the room, staying as far back as possible from the heat in this room.

"Yeah?" I answer, waiting for them to tell me what they want with me. As far as I know I've done nothing wrong this week.

"Come with us." One orders, and I look to Enobaria for permission. And oddly enough, she doesn't seem surprised by this appearance nor the order as she waves me off and curious, I follow them out of the room into the relatively cool hallway, wondering what's going on.

* * *

**So…? **

**To answer a few questions off the bat, yes, Katniss and Gale are Careers. This is set in District 2, the only difference to the Panem world being that the Hawthornes and the Everdeens live in District 2 instead of District 12. I am going to try my damn hardest to keep them as in character as I possibly can, but under the circumstances it's going to be OOC at times, so I hope you forgive me for that and hopefully that enhances the story rather than make it worse. I already know this story is going to be a risk; it is going to be dark and twisted at times, but I hope you're in for a very long and interesting ride. I certainly am ;) **


	3. Truths

_**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**_

_I think that anything that you do, any accomplishment that you make, you have to work for. And I've worked very hard in the last ten years of my life, definitely, and I can tell you that hard work pays off. It's not just a cliché.-Cameron Diaz_

_**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**_

Katniss's POV

As I follow the two guards to wherever they're taking me goosebumps cover my arms and legs under the sheen of sweat that still covers my skin, the contrast between the heat in the training room and the normal temperature of the hallway making me shiver as my body adjusts to the difference. I try to wipe the sweat off on my shirt but that's wet with perspiration too so it really doesn't do much good, so I just focus more on the curiosity of where I'm going instead of my body.

Maybe they're going to take me to the office where one of the instructors or Victors is going to ask me to be an example for one of the younger classes. I am easily the best with a bow here in the entire Academy, but aside from whatever natural ability I gained from my father in that skill I probably do have the most practice aside from Gale. We do it regularly out in the woods after all with real animals while everyone else has to make do with the training room and targets and fake birds thrown up in the air, after all; not exactly the same quality of training. I wouldn't mind that, showing off to younger kids and have them looking at me in awe and wishing they could do the same. But I don't really know why that would require two guards to take me there because they could have just called the training room and have Enobaria tell me to go to the office. So what gives?

Much to my surprise, the guards don't even look back at me as they lead me to my unknown destination, and my curiosity rises when they lead me past the offices and down the hall, turning left to a hallway that I didn't even know existed in the Academy. It's darker than the normally lit fluorescent hallway lights, but it's not too bad. The men in black stop at an unmarked door and one of them knocks on it three times, opening the door and gesturing for me to go in. My brow furrowing, I do what he wants me to do and immediately find myself in some kind of conference room with a few Victors, the Head of the Academy, and the Mayor of all people sitting down looking at me. The door closes behind me with a loud noise but I don't even bother jumping at it, the curiosity clear on my face. What am I doing here with all these people?

"Miss Everdeen, sit down please." Head Tarvus breaks the silence, gesturing to one of the plush red cushioned chairs on my side of the table. Head Tarvus is a man with the creases of age and sun on his face, but he rarely smiles. He's not a Victor like most of the trainers here but he might as well have been. With a keen eye for potential tributes and their worth as well as being quite the brute and intelligent force in his time as a peacekeeper in the Capitol during the last twelve years of his contract, he's been through a lot and demands with a rather intimidating gaze without trying. He's definitely not someone to mess with and I've actually only personally seen the guy maybe a half dozen times in all my time at the Academy, so my curiosity only rises at his presence here.

Without speaking I take the few necessary steps to the chair and pull it out, slinking into it rather gracefully as I try not to panic and idly hoping they don't care how gross I am or that I'm probably making the chair unclean. Did I actually do something wrong or is someone framing me? I still don't understand why the Mayor is here, but at least the others make sense in a way, even Head Tarvus; at least he's a part of the Academy.

"Just to clarify, I'm innocent of doing anything wrong." I decide to speak just to clear the air. It might sound desperate but I honestly don't know why I'm here. Much to my confusion a few smiles and laughs meet my statement.

"You're not in trouble, Miss Everdeen." the Mayor assures me with a smile, his unnaturally unwrinkled face for someone of his age gazing at me with a sort of sparkle in his eyes. He must have had some of that work done on him that the Capitolites do; he's certainly rich and important enough to merit such things. "Far from it, actually."

That's a relief, and I decide to stop talking until they just tell me why I'm here already. And they do, and I'm in that meeting room for only five minutes maybe but I know that five minutes just changed my life forever. And though I get up from the chair at the large table and coolly walk to the door and out of the room, once the door is shut behind me I can't contain myself anymore and break into a hard, fast run right for the place I need to go first.

* * *

Gale's POV

"Upper cut, Hawthorne. You're not going to kill anyone with that kind of punch." Jay reprimands me in his strange way. I've rarely heard the guy actually yell, but he's far from not being terrifying with his demands. No, it's an almost creepy, normal voice that he argues and orders with, so much worse than the yelling because you can't really tell exactly how he's feeling about it. At least yelling is something normal to do when people aren't doing what you want. But I guess that's just another part of Jay that helped him win the Hunger Games; he's sly and almost creepy in every way.

But I respect him for it; actually, if I could have chosen any mentor here myself it would have been him. Though I was far too young to remember his Games myself, I've watched them over and over, mostly in classes at the Academy when we analyze Victors and other decent players, pointing out their weaknesses and strengths, how they won or how they lost. How they could have won if they died. And Jay had been my favorite of all of our Victors from the very first time I watched him in the arena. The way he played wasn't necessarily the norm for someone from our district (he was on the list after all, not a chosen volunteer), but I actually liked it that way. Maybe because I could identify with him more because I had a similar structure unlike many of our volunteers who are buff and brutal like Brutus or our first Victor Matteus, but I really think it was something else. He had a strategy that made all the other tributes believe that he wouldn't do anything that he actually did, slitting throats in their sleep and slinking off before anyone could realize it.

So maybe it's more the fact that I like him best because I want to be remembered for being different, not the same old tribute from District 2. Maybe that makes me conceited, but I don't really care. Ever since I was thirteen years old I knew I had a good shot at being chosen to volunteer, and that meant I started even then thinking of strategy. And with my hunting that no one else aside from Katniss has here, with my own skills I've picked up and the fact that I can pretty much charm my way through anything has attributed to that. And if Jay is different than our other mentors, that means he's far more likely to pick up on my strategy and exactly what I need in the arena and send it when I need it; I wouldn't even have to explain the motives or reasons behind them too thoroughly. Jay may be the craziest Victor we have (aside from Fangula), but he's smart, and I trust him. Which unfortunately means doing everything he tells me right now whether I want to or not.

Upper cutting the trainer I'm currently fighting, he blocks it unfortunately and I think on my feet, doing a little shuffle to the side so that I can take advantage of his weaknesses. Getting a little closer so that I can elbow him right in the jaw, I block a punch and about to elbow him in the jaw when something distracts me.

"Gale!" Katniss's voice calls to me excitedly, and I lose my concentration from the thought that I don't even know why she's here, in my training. That loss in concentration ends with a hard punch to my head and I stumble back a little, but luckily the trainer ends it there and stops fighting me. Rubbing my now sore head that will probably end up being a really bad headache if not a concussion I turn to find a sweaty Katniss disregarding everything in the room and running towards me with the biggest smile on her face I've ever seen outside of the woods.

"What?" I ask her, anticipating her news.

"I got the Quell!" she beams, and I catch her as she races towards me laughing and spin her around. I can't believe she nagged that honor; not that she doesn't deserve it, but it's quite a feat.

"Hawthorne…" Jay's voice breaks the excitement, a sense of warning in his tone. He wouldn't be too happy to have any of his training interrupted, let alone training right before I go into the arena in about a month. I glance in his direction to find him standing there with his arms crossed, a slight frown on his face. But he doesn't look as upset as he typically would; this is pretty big news and Katniss is my best friend.

"Five minutes? Please?" I nearly beg him, Katniss standing to my side out of my arms and seems a little guilty for just bursting in here but doesn't say anything.

He hesitates for a moment, but eventually just uncrosses his arms and looks at us. "Three minutes." He grants us and I smile gratefully at him. "Congrats." He nods to Katniss, and the way he does it makes me think he knew. Oh right, all Victors are in the decision of who will be the tributes; though I can't imagine why he didn't tell me then. "Come on, Norman." He calls to the trainer and Norman obediently follows Jay out of the training room, closing the door behind them.

No sooner than they're out of the room I pull Katniss into another hug and when she lets go she beams up at me, still exhilarated about it.

"I knew you had it in you." I tell her and she smirks almost cockily which is not normal for her but I guess under the circumstances she has every right to be.

"Thanks. I should have known when they called me out of training to follow two of the guards." She informs me, and I quirk an eyebrow at her. Yeah, sounds pretty familiar to my experience from about a year ago, except I had just gotten to one of my classes when the guards took me. But since I had a pretty good feeling of what was going to happen from this, I figured it out as soon as we got by the offices and that conference room just sealed that conclusion for me before a word even came out of anyone's mouth.

"You didn't figure it out? What did you think they were doing?" I ask her, slightly amused. She catches on to that and hits me in the arm to get back at me for making fun of her, but it's not that hard and it barely hurts. Or maybe that's just because my head is throbbing from that punch a minute ago.

"I don't know, I thought they wanted me to be an example or something." She shrugs, "Or that I was in trouble though I couldn't really think of for what."

"What would you be in trouble for?" I ask her, and then I can't help myself but add teasingly with a grin, "Did you not feed Fangula enough this week?"

"No-" she begins to protest, but I take it further, enjoying my jokes about the most ridiculous Victor of District 2 in my opinion.

"Because the blood room is open most of the time you know. I hear her favorite is type B negative."

"Gale." she scoffs at my little nickname again, but I think it's more because she never wants to piss off her mentor than anything. I've only heard her refer to Enobaria as that herself once since she started training with her, but I know she really doesn't care. But now that she's a tribute it matters far less; Fangula can't do much about at this point save grumbling about it.

"You know I'm kidding." I smile at her, and she rolls her eyes at me but smiles a little too, the grin not being able to come off her face at the moment. But really it's because she knows I'm only half joking.

I made up that nickname when I was nine here at the Academy though I've never called her it to her face. It was just something between watching her Hunger Games and seeing her in person with her strange Capitol given sharp golden teeth and the fact that I swear she always goes to the blood room more than necessary that I just told some people she was Fangula and that she was a vampire. And the fact that I swear I've seen her literally drink some of the blood in that room before when I was walking past one day though Katniss always tells me I'm exaggerating. Maybe in her right of passage for becoming used to blood when she was ten or eleven she got just a little too much of that spray that makes you like things. It wears off of course, but she just likes blood a little too much. Add that to her ripping that tribute's throat out in her arena and the vampire thing doesn't seem such a far cry from the truth.

"But really, congratulations." I decide to put the joking aside, especially considering we don't have too much time before Jay and Norman come back in and force me to start training again concussion or not. "I have to admit I'm sort of jealous." I tell her, because it's true. Being a tribute in any Hunger Games is an honor in itself, but a Quarter Quell only comes around every twenty five years; being a tribute in one of those let alone winning is a whole different category.

I remember watching the last Quell in class; Haymitch Abernathy from District 12 of all places won, though it was kind of a fluke. He used the arena against his last opponent and she basically took herself out. It's not like I'd really be against cheating in a way in the arena nor the fact that he wasn't really a worthy tribute (because he's probably the best that poor coal district has ever presented tribute-wise), but had the girl not taken herself out with her own weapon from it she would have won easily. But District 2 is far better, and I already know Katniss can win this.

"I'm sure a lot of people are." She admits, but she just tells me what I already know for my jealously in particular. "But you wouldn't even be eligible; you're eighteen for this one."

"I know." I sigh, knowing if I was just five months younger I'd be eighteen just barely for the Quell next year. But it's not like I could have changed that. "If I was though, we'd make a hell of a team in that arena." I think aloud, because we both know it's true. I respect Clove's abilities and I'm confident she'll be a valiant tribute until I take her out or let someone else (since killing your own district partner is a bit of an unspoken wrong, even here in District 2 unless you're at least two of the last several tributes), but Katniss and I have been best friends since I was five and she was three; we have worked together in the woods for years and years and can almost disturbingly know what the other is thinking or feeling without muttering a word. It's sort of strange that we can do this when our dads are best friends and do much of what we do and can't, but maybe it's because we were so young when we met; they weren't friends until they were ten. So yeah, Katniss and I would probably be the best team the Hunger Games has ever seen. But…

"We would." Katniss agrees, but frowns and says aloud exactly what my next disturbing thought would be. "But eventually we would have to kill each other."

And therein lies the truth and the problem.

There aren't many rules for the Hunger Games aside from the unspoken ones of not killing off your district partner and kill or be killed, but there is one. Twenty four tributes go in, one Victor comes out with the other unfortunate twenty three dead. It's unquestioned, you don't even bother trying to change it though you wish you could sometimes. In fact, it can't be questioned; there would never in a million years be more than one winner save an odd Quarter Quell rule or something and even this I don't see happening. And if I went in with Katniss, this rule wouldn't change. Meaning that only one of us could ever come out.

It seems stupid, given that we've both been in the Academy since we were six years old training to be a tribute. We train to kill, to strategize, to build up our weapons and skills and to never be afraid to kill or destroy someone or something. And honestly, I have no problem with it, even being so close to my own arena. I like Clove well enough as a person but when the time came I wouldn't feel too bad about killing her; after all, there's only one winner and it's going to be me. It's not really personal, just the Games. But if it was Katniss…despite everything, despite the rules, I know I would never in a million years be able to kill the girl standing in front of me. Not only has she been my best friend from the time we were very young when our fathers introduced us, but…it's so stupid. I shouldn't feel anything at all and I haven't shown it, but something in how I see her has changed in the past six months or so. Maybe it's because I'm going into an arena that has the possibility of becoming my sacrificial stone though I do believe in myself, or maybe it's some haze that has always been there that has lifted. Either way, I already know that I could never kill her because then I might as well kill myself.

Maybe those five months that made me eighteen for this reaping instead of the Quell is my saving grace after all. Because you could bet your ass it would have been a possibility for us both to go into that arena next year had they not been there.

I'm finally able to look at her after quietly thinking of that horror that I was forced to look at myself and find her staring at me in the same way, both of us clearly thinking the same and knowing the other is too. A glance passes between us and with that we decide without even speaking in the way we always can that neither of us could kill the other no matter what. And so bringing up the subject again in return probably won't happen again. It can't happen anyway which happens to be in our favor it seems, no matter if she gets the higher honor than me or not.

The door breaks our gaze as Jay struts back in, clearly meaning for us to hear him since even with our hunting senses we may not have heard him if he was being his normal sneaky self. He glances at us and assesses our position, how we're clearly just coming out of some daze that isn't at all a happy one though it should be considering the news he left us to be alone for.

"We got work to do Hawthorne." He breaks the silence, and Katniss nods at him and acknowledges that this is her cue to leave, mumbling that she'll talk to me later before sprinting out back to her own training. I rub my head and turn to Jay where he's watching me, his creepy stare boring into me as if he's trying to put a finger on something.

"Where's Norman?" I question him, hoping that if I avoid his obvious attempt at mind reading that he'll give up and just get back to work.

"Don't need him. You're doing laps now so go get changed." He orders me, and I give him a look.

"Why? I already know how to swim and it's not necessary." I remind him, not anticipating being underwater with my head throbbing the way it currently is. It's not really normal for people from our district to learn how to swim, but I didn't learn at the Academy. Katniss's dad learned from his dad and in turn taught me since he was going to teach Katniss anyway. We learned in a rather large pond in the woods when we were kids instead of hunting those days while dad did the snare line just so we could pay Ryder. He said it was necessary because though swimming wasn't something everyone learned anymore, it was a good thing to know. I didn't mind in the least, only seeing it then as a fun way to pass the time as we splashed in the water, grateful for a cool place to be when it was a particularly hot day in the summer.

Jay just shakes his head, walking towards the door so that I have no choice but to follow him out of the Academy and out to the grounds of the place, back into the woods all the way to the lake we have here for our water source that is purified before coming to the building. He doesn't answer me until he gestures for me to strip and with a sigh I do.

"Do you remember why we didn't have a Victor four years ago in the 70th Hunger Games?" he questions me and I shake my head at him but answer.

"Yeah, Annie Cresta won from District 4. That mad girl." I reply, remembering her. Went crazy after her district partner was beheaded by the guy from District 1. I mean I know most people know their district partner, but I've never seen anyone go insane before by seeing them killed. It just happens, you let it go; fact of the arena.

"Correct. And she won why?" he prompts me, and I play along because I already know where this is going.

"Because she was the best swimmer."

"Right. And if our tributes had known how to swim they could have won. Which means you damn well are going to know how to swim for your life, understand?" he tells me and all I can do is nod grudgingly, knowing I'm not getting out of this. He has a point but it's not likely that knowing how to swim for my life is going to save me in the arena; it's not like a dam breaks every year and the arena was mostly water last year. The Gamemakers aren't likely to have a similar arena this year after all.

But I already know any sense I have about this isn't going to convince Jay, because he is hard to argue with, and he won't give a shit. So I do what he says for a while before he stops me, staying on the beach and trying not to pant as I catch my breath.

"Quite an honor your friend received isn't it?" he comments as I lay there, and I force back a groan. I should have known I wouldn't get away with that break earlier without him talking about it.

"Sure is." I answer with finality, hoping it's the end of the conversation.

"You must be jealous." He declares and I sigh. I really don't know why I try sometimes.

"Anyone would be." I reply, because it's true. And I am jealous in a way, but I already know what's coming.

"But maybe you're glad that you can't go with her?" he smiles at me in a knowing way, as if he's already got everything figured out. I hesitate to answer and that seems to be my mistake, as it confirms his question.

"More than friend then. Figures." He snorts as I get up from where I'm lying on the ground, frowning at him.

"No she's not." I protest, but he just shakes his head at me.

"But you'd like her to be, wouldn't you?" he asks with a devilish knowing smirk, and laughs at my reaction of a sigh mixed with a roll of my eyes.

"What's it matter? She doesn't know and certainly doesn't want anyone like that." I shrug, not really asking for advice or an answer but being my mentor, Jay decides he'll give it anyway.

"Better for her to know before you go into the arena." He advises, and I quirk an eyebrow at him.

"What, now you don't believe in me?" I question him, not really hurt as I should be. I don't really give a shit if anyone believes I can as long as I know I can do it.

"No, I'm just saying that shit can happen in that arena no matter how skilled or trained you are. Better not to leave it to chance." He says solemnly, a serious expression on his face.

"I'll keep that in mind." I promise him, though it's only a half promise. I don't really plan to say anything to her at all.

"Keep this in mind too; it's better not have any regrets." he replies before dismissing me with a wave of his hand.

"It's not like regrets can kill you." I reply sarcastically, but he just stares at me like I'm an ignorant child.

"Sometimes they can." Jay replies in a mysterious way before walking away, leaving me more confused than ever at this crazy man I chose to be my mentor.


	4. Opportunities

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason._

–_J.P. Morgan_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Katniss's POV

I can't hold back a sigh as Prim and I try in vain to pretend that our parents aren't fighting in the next room, clearly yelling and bitter. We're playing cards again in the living room desperately trying to ignore them, but it's getting increasingly more difficult to do. I flip on the television just for something to drown them out, but even the replay of one of the old Hunger Games on, I think it might be one eleven or twelve years ago, isn't enough. Giving up for the moment I throw down my cards and hold onto the table with my hand, my knuckles going white with effort. It's the only thing keeping me from going in there and telling them to just shut up or leave the house all together.

"I wish they wouldn't fight." Prim sighs, gently placing her cards down too and therefore ceasing our pointless distraction, her eyes flickering towards the television and wincing as someone is being killed by the grunts I can hear from behind me.

"Me too." I reply, but I already know this one has to do with me. This fight is my fault and it's been a recurring one for our parents for weeks now. I came home after training the day I found out that I had received the honor of being the volunteer for the Quarter Quell next year and excitedly told my parents. My dad, of course, was over the moon. I don't think I've ever seen him beam that broadly and I know he couldn't be prouder. My mother, however…well, let's just say she doesn't like it. Actually that would be the understatement of the century; she loathes it.

"You know it's because of me." I mutter, feeling a little guilty for that but not as much as I should. After all, I do agree with dad; mom just doesn't understand.

"I don't like that you're going either but I don't fight with you about it." Prim points out with a pout coming over to hug me. In her embrace I can sense all her quiet fear in me being a tribute to be for the Hunger Games next year and I hug her tighter just to comfort her. She's right in that she doesn't fight me on it, but she also realizes that nothing she says will change my mind no matter how much I love her. She realizes that I see it as an honor where mother cannot accept that.

"I know." I tell her, kissing her hair lightly before she lets go.

"Mother also doesn't want to go celebrate tonight, she doesn't think there's anything to celebrate." She tells me, and I know she's right. Though my mother has never said it to me in any case, I already knew from past experiences that she hates anything to do with celebrating the Hunger Games. And our plans in a few hours to have dinner with the Hawthornes as a sort of last dinner celebration before Gale volunteers tomorrow at the Reaping doesn't sit well with her. In fact, I'd guess that's what they're fighting about right now.

"The Hawthornes are like family, she should go no matter what she feels." I comment though Prim frowns, clearly not entirely happy about it either. But she hasn't complained about it because she enjoys hanging out with Rory as she doesn't see him too often anymore between the Hawthornes going to a different school than we do and the fact that he's been in training for almost seven years now, ever since he turned six like all Academy students. I'm sure she's also excited about playing with Posy, the adorable youngest Hawthorne who is like the little sister Prim never had. "Besides, it's Gale's choice. Mother's opinion isn't going to change his mind if she doesn't come anyway."

Prim sighs, but finally nods her head. "I know. Do you really think he can win?"

"Yes." I answer automatically, and it's not just because he's my best friend. "I've known Gale forever, and I already know he has some sort of plan; he's been working on it for a while now. Plus he's not only had twelve years of training but he's been hunting all his life."

"Hunting will help in the arena, right?" she questions me though she already knows the answer; I can tell she's just nervous having someone she actually knows in the Games more than anything, someone like family. Guess it's sort of a precursor to me so maybe this will make her less worried next year, though I doubt it.

"Very much so." I predict, and before she can go asking more questions our mother is at the doorway, looking for all the world drained and stressed. Guess while we were talking their fight stopped, or at least for a while anyway.

"Come on girls, it's time to go." She orders quietly before turning away, her simmering anger clear in her tone. I sigh but get up the same time Prim does, hoping my mother can at least not show how much she detests this when we're there.

* * *

"What's wrong Catnip?" Gale questions me as we lean against the railing of the porch after dinner, Gale's last one before the reaping tomorrow when he'll go to the Capitol. I could lie to him that nothing's wrong but I already know he wouldn't believe me; we know each other so well from being hunting partners and best friends for years that he could tell the moment I walked in something was agitating me.

So with a sigh, I reply, "I wish my mother wasn't so…judgemental."

"Still not happy with your tribute-status?" he guesses and I nod, but that's not what's bothering her most at the moment.

"That and yours." I reveal before kicking the railing lightly in frustration as a sort of strange jealously washes over me, probably conditioned from going from my household to Gale's for an entire evening. "I wish my mother was more like Hazelle."

Gale chuckles lightly though he knows I'm not joking. Well, kind of. Don't get me wrong she's still my mother, but I can't imagine how much easier my life could have been had Dad married someone that went to training with him or at least didn't hate the Hunger Games like my mother.

My dad, Marc, and Hazelle had all been trained at the Academy. They knew where we were coming from, how we thought about the Hunger Games and training because they had been there themselves. My dad never thought much of marriage life or anything as he was focused on training though he never got the opportunity to volunteer, and threw himself into it apparently. One day when he was seventeen he foolishly lost track of where his mace was going when he was practice fighting with it and accidently hurt himself. Luckily it wasn't too bad, mostly just a graze, but it required medical attention and he was taken to the nearest hospital to have it cleaned and taken care of.

That's where he met my mother. She was a candy stripper in the hospital like Prim does twice a week, helping the nurses and doctors in the hopes of becoming one usually. It's a good profession I guess if you can handle blood and stuff, but certainly not for me. While I have no trouble with handling weapons or even hurting someone with one because training has desensitized me to that, a hospital is not somewhere I particularly enjoy. It's too…sterile I guess you could say. I had to stay there once overnight when I got really sick when I was seven and I hated it. So did my dad, but he used to tell me with a smile he fell in love with my mother from the moment he saw her.

He tried talking to her, charming her to go on a date with him, but she refused. Since he was in training and they went to different schools there wasn't much opportunity for him to see her again after he left the hospital, but he was determined. So almost ridiculously, he purposefully got hurt again and again until my mother finally agreed, but she was smiling and awed that my father wanted her that badly. They dated for two years before getting married, and while they were very different people it didn't really matter much until I got the invitation to go to the Academy when I was six. That's when most of the fighting and verbal disagreements started, and it really frustrates me to no end but somehow I know I'm partially the cause of it. It's terrible.

Gale smiles softly at that, but shakes his head. "Do you really want to be the person who ruined your mother's dreams of being a tribute?"

"You know that's not what I mean, Gale." I shake my head at him. I can't believe he still feels somehow responsible for that, though I know he always has.

Hazelle had been a really good Academy student, seemingly with the perfect life. She came from a family where they supported her fully in her dreams of being a Victor, and she had even been chosen to be a tribute when she was eighteen when she was sixteen years old. She was dating Marc at the time and everything seemed perfect. That is, until she ended up pregnant the when she was seventeen.

Sure she could have still been a tribute after Gale was born, but Hazelle is not that kind of person. She gave up the Academy when she found out she was pregnant and married Marc, giving up everything to raise Gale and her children to come. Personally I find that it's sad that she lost her dream, but admirable all the same. Hazelle is exactly the kind of person I would want to be; strong, fierce, loves her family more than anything.

Marc, who is a year older than Hazelle, still went to the Academy with my dad of course even after they were married. He obviously wasn't chosen to volunteer but he was still on the list, and honestly I think he had hopes to be chosen just to make it up to Hazelle, to realize her dream for her. He didn't get chosen and started working at SIM to support them, but I think he couldn't swallow it quite as easily as Hazelle did. It's mostly why I think he's so hard on Gale with training, especially after Gale got chosen to volunteer. But unlike Gale who thinks it's because he's the reason Hazelle or Marc didn't get to be, I think it's more because Marc wants any of his kids to accomplish it. Rory goes to the Academy too, though at thirteen he clearly hasn't been chosen for one on one training yet let alone anything else. Vick doesn't train, but he's uncharacteristically quiet for their family and more like Prim in a way. Posy is too young to know yet, though I have a feeling she'll go to the Academy too by the way she already admires her older brothers and tries to do what they do. Gale just happened to be the oldest and therefore Marc is the hardest on him.

He gives me a small smile, but I know his heart's not in it. He's still feeling guilty about it and bitter, wishing more than anything that tomorrow is the beginning of making his family proud. For support I give him a quick side hug which he returns lightly, but doesn't say anything.

"You already make them proud." I remind him quietly, but knowing he needs to hear it.

"I know." He answers after a minute, an odd look to his eyes. It seems to be a combination of guilt and unaccepting, and yet it builds to a confidence he normally has. "But I'm going to make them even more, starting tomorrow."

I smile in agreement and we're quiet for a long while after that, no need for words between us. Our comfortable silence is interrupted a while later by the door opening and my family coming out, a sleepy Prim leaning on my mother. I hadn't realized it was so late.

"We have to go Katniss. It's getting late." Dad tells me and once I nod he turns to Gale. "Good luck, son. Go get em."

Gale gives him his winning smile, all traces of our conversation and his guilt gone. I know it's still there but I'm the only one he would ever show it to so I don't show my surprise at how quickly and easily he can turn the charming confidence persona on when he wants to. "You know it."

With goodbyes that follow I remain behind my family a few steps, leaving after them. But I hear Gale call my name and stop, my family walking still because they hadn't heard it.

"Yeah?" I question him, surprised to find that he's hesitant and unsure of himself. It's one of the first times in quite a while I can't read what he's thinking, and it confuses me more than it probably should.

"You're coming to say goodbye to me tomorrow, right?" he finally asks, and now I'm really confused. What's so difficult about asking that?

"Of course." I reply, my expression clearly telling him that I don't know why he'd even ask. Tributes get an hour for people to say goodbye to them and while there's not really an exact specification on who can, if you aren't family or a girlfriend/boyfriend most people don't go. Everyone from the Academy already knows who the tributes are and therefore have either said their goodbyes already or don't care enough, some angry that they didn't get their chance. But Gale is my best friend and has been practically my entire life; of course I'm going.

"Just checking." He answers my bafflement, and it's the first I've seen of nerves from him. Is he really doubting himself now of all times? He's been all confidence up to this point; it doesn't really make any sense. Oh well, I guess I'll have to give him a quick ego boost before he leaves tomorrow because I'm already way behind my family on getting home and surely they've noticed I'm not with them by now. That kind of thinking he's doing right now doesn't make a Victor, after all.

* * *

Gale's POV

Anticipating the reaping to begin is probably one of the few times I've been very impatient in a long time. Everyone is still arriving, those eligible to be reaped still signing in and making their way to their appropriate roped off area, where we are divided by sex and age, boys on the right side of the stage and girls on the left. I was getting antsy to leave and get going with it so we left a little early from our house, being some of the first to arrive.

Dad gave me yet another pep talk, and I can't help thinking of what I was talking to Katniss about just last night. He's so…serious and almost desperate even, I know how much he wanted this for himself or mom. Even though I assured him that everything would go as planned, I know he's still worried about the list. Since I'm eighteen this is my last reaping and he knows as well as I do I'm fucked if the wrong name comes out of that bowl. But he doesn't need to remind me of that. Besides, part of being on the list is that you aren't allowed to sign up for tesserae because that would give you uneven chances of being reaped, since it's based off of how many people you take it for. For instance, if I took it for me and my entire family my name would be in there forty-two times instead of seven. That's not exactly fair to someone who only comes from a family of say them and their parents who is sixteen or something. And this is all aside from the fact that the Academy likes controlling the reaping so to speak, that who they want to be the tributes will be. The list in all reality is to keep people there so they still get their money, not for us.

But I still feel like I need to make my parents proud of me with this Hunger Games. Even though this is my arena and my Games, I almost feel like it's theirs too. No matter what Katniss or my mom says, I still feel responsible for why my mom didn't go into the arena like she should have. I know it's technically my parents' fault but had I been older or didn't exist at all at that point she could have gone and won. I'm doing this as much for her as myself.

Thinking about it (and there's not much else to do aside from idly watching the peacekeepers on the stage doing the final touches of cleaning and rearranging chairs) I find my family in the growing crowd and find them all smiles and I have to smile at it. I know reapings are bad things, something to hate and be nervous about in most districts, but not here. It's better this way anyway. I mean look at Posy, dancing around in her pink dress while she waits, giggling at something Vick says to her. My parents with their arms around each other's waists, still almost embarrassingly in love as they were when they were teenagers talking to Katniss's parents…wait, they're here?

Instantly I turn away from the crowd and look to the sign in tables, but if she's there I don't see her or Prim for that matter. My eyes instantly go towards the twelve year old girls section next, knowing that Katniss would have dropped Prim off there on her way to her own section. I find Prim there in a group of dressed up girls talking quietly but no Katniss. It's almost sad how much I'm wanting to look at her, but eventually I do and my gaze catches hers where I find her warm smile on me. I almost catch my breath when I see it, but then I remember how stupidly chicken I was last night and I refuse to show it, just grinning back lightly to tell her hello and I'm all confidence again.

I was biting my tongue all night last night trying to think of how and when to tell Katniss something about how I feel about her, how she's more than just a best friend to me. Jay may be crazy, but he seemed serious when he told me that I shouldn't leave any regrets behind when I leave today. And he does have a point I guess; even though I'm confident in myself, there will be some things that I already know I can't control in that arena; mutts, gamemaker manipulations, the arena itself. I haven't seen any of the other reapings yet aside from District 6 which was on live before we left but they rarely have any real potential threats, but there always could be. District 1 and 4 also train so they are ones to look out for, but since they will be my alliance I'm not terribly worried about them; I have ample time to assess them and put plans into place, take them out when necessary. And Clove I've worked with for a good six months now; I already know how to beat her. But you just never know sometimes.

So I did have every intention of telling Katniss, but I just couldn't get it out. And then when she started leaving I panicked that I had lost my chance and called to her. But the nerves just took over me and left me tongue tied, and I had to make up some dumb excuse to cover myself. I already know that when she comes to see me in the Justice Building that will be my last chance before I come home from the Capitol, so instead of paying attention like I usually do and should to the speeches I work up my courage instead. My gaze is intently on the mayor speaking but I'm not actually looking, nor am I really listening at all. It isn't until our Capitol escort of the last nine years, Marcellus Livinbary who this year has bright yellow spiked hair and a yellow and purple suit to match with shiny lapels on his jacket nearly blinds my hazy gaze that I blink and actually pay attention.

"Welcome to the day you have all been waiting for! The Reaping of the 74th Hunger Games!" he announces in excitement in his Capitol accent, ever the sunny personality that appears to always match his clothing. And I assume that he has every right to be, considering he's the escort for our district. Certainly with how well we do he's well envied by his friends and certainly most of the other escorts. As shouts and cheers meet his announcement, he basks it in until he allows it to simmer down, announcing like usual boys first.

Walking over to the boys large bowl, he makes a show of picking out a name he already knows won't matter before coming back to the stand, with a flourish opening it. _Please not a list kid, please, please, please._

"Owen Dyson."

Yes! The odds are definitely in my favor today, it seems. This kid doesn't even go to the Academy from what I tell as he does his required walk from the fifteen year old section to the stage, a skinny kid by our district's standards. Must be one of the few that actually have to take tesserae, maybe he's even from the Community home. There aren't many there, but occasionally something bad will happen that leaves a kid parentless. Either way, I don't care and neither does this kid. He doesn't even seem too worried to be reaped because he already knows that someone is going to volunteer, he just doesn't know it's me. So I guess it's time to let him know.

No sooner than Marcellus announces the kid's name again once he's onstage and asking for volunteers I find myself raising my hand and announcing loud and clear, proudly even.

"I volunteer!"

Marcellus's face lights up when he hears and his bright head finds me easily in the roped off area closest to the stage with eighteen year old boys as I make my way through the boys and find myself up on stage, the boy whose name I and many other people probably have already forgotten slinking offstage and back to his roped off area I would assume. The stage feels good up here as I look out to the crowd, mostly smiling or approving faces meeting mine. Rory is holding a thumbs up from his place in his thirteen year old pin and I have to smile a little wider at that, but my gaze instinctively goes towards the sixteen year old girl section where I find my Catnip watching me with such…pride. It makes my confidence grow even more and I don't even bother to look away from her when Marcellus asks for my name.

"Gale Hawthorne." I tell him, the crowd, the whole of Panem. They'll remember it, I know they will. I'll make them and come back to _my _girl who I can't look away from right now.

You know, when I actually get the chance soon to tell her I want that.

* * *

My family had already come to see me, mostly hugs and kisses and last minute advice from my parents and even Rory. Posy knows that I'm going to the arena, but even then she's only five and I don't think she quite understands all of it. But that's alright, I'm not planning on giving her anything to worry about, nothing for my parents or anyone else to explain. I'm coming home.

My next and more likely than not visitor has just arrived, and it's automatic that she comes into my arms, giving me a hug. I take this chance to just take her in, enjoying having her lean body against mine and the smell of her shampoo near my nose. I could get used to this. She gives me some silly advice that she knows I already know to do, but really she just doesn't seem to know what to say. But that's alright, I've got plenty to say. Though even I would be lying if I didn't say I was nervous for what could very well happen right now…No, don't chicken out Gale. Just say something.

"Hey Catnip." I begin, not thinking about it.

"Yeah?" she questions me, not seeming to know what to do with my tone.

"You know I might not come back." I exclaim quietly, and to my surprise she hits me on the arm and seems…angry?

"Don't think like that. You can't." she shakes her head at me. "You've got this and you're coming home."

Well glad to know she's got plenty of confidence in me. That's a start. Come on Gale, just say it. Play it off cool so if it goes bad it can be like a joke. "I know, but things can happen in the arena. You know what would give me good luck?"

"What?" she asks, clearly guarded. She doesn't know where I'm going with this.

"A kiss." I blurt out, trying to play it off like I'm kidding but even I can hear the desperation and desire in my voice. She seems utterly shocked and confused, but can't seem to take her eyes off me. It makes me nervous, her investigating my face and posture, trying to figure out if I'm just playing her or if I actually want her to and I find myself unable to breathe as she does so. She can't seem to figure it out and I can tell it frustrates her, but to my utter surprise she doesn't walk right out the door or hit me again.

"Tell you what." she begins, slow and like she's trying to play it cool but I know her well enough to tell that she's completely flustered and baffled still. She doesn't know how to react. The peacekeepers are at the door and she turns to see them before turning back to me quickly before going out the door with them.

"You'll get it when you come back a Victor."


	5. Appearances

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_Fronti nulla fides-appearances deceive-Latin Proverb_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Gale's POV

As the door shuts on Katniss and the peacekeepers, I'm in utter shock. Well that was definitely not what I expected. Not that I really thought she'd just fall into my arms or something let alone do what I asked for, but…well I don't know. I could tell she didn't know what to do, but giving me some ounce of hope was certainly more than I expected. She even promised to kiss me when I came back a Victor.

Well, more motivation for me then.

I'm pretty sure I don't have any more visitors so I sit down on the plush couch here in the Justice building waiting for Marcellus or Jay to come get me to escort me to the car that will drive us to the train station, and I'm right. It does, however, take that long for me to gather my thoughts and not look quite as surprised as I should, since that would confuse the hell out of people. I did volunteer after all, no reason to look like I'm upset about it or not quite knowing what I'm doing. Because from the moment I volunteered people were scrutinizing my every move and I'm not going to give any tribute a shadow of a doubt that I'm not winning this thing, not even if it's something they misinterpret.

So when Marcellus comes to get me maybe twenty minutes later I put on my most winning smile and I already know that most of it has to do with Katniss, not finally going to the Capitol as a tribute for the Hunger Games. But that's alright, I can keep that my little secret; if the potential sponsors think it's for them than all the better.

The car ride there is uneventful aside from anticipating my entrance, my hand tapping on my knee as I take in the luxury of the car. It's not as if I've never been in a car before, but that one was more like an old truck where I sat in the back part with six other people on our way to a night of gallivanting and pranks in the woods behind Victor's Village a few times when I was fourteen or fifteen. They're not the same woods that I hunt with Katniss and our dads, but I'd honestly prefer them not to be. That was a time where I first started truly realizing that girls were into me and now looking back, I wouldn't have wanted Katniss there at all let alone a possible run in from our dads.

Those woods, which I can just barely make out as we drive past Victor's Village on our way to the train station, make me smile in remembrance, though. I was quite the troublemaker back then when I wasn't in school or the Academy, always up for a prank or silly game of spin the bottle or dares. My best prank by far in those woods before we finally got caught by one of the older Victors a few years ago would have to be the one on Brutus, a burly brute mass but not with much brain. Honestly, no one would say with any seriousness that the forty-three year old won for his strategic-skills, because if I'm being honest his strategy was literally just killing people. No tricks or turns, just kill. The only reason that a smarter tribute didn't win that year was because that Hunger Games ended very quickly, almost the quickest Games in Hunger Games history that lasted only three and a half days, and the arena was very small. No one had time to make a legitimate plan against the alliance which tore through the arena, taking out tributes left and right before turning on themselves. And so that trick we played on him took advantage of that, driving him absolutely insane. We knocked on doors, windows, and the roof. Pretended to be ghosts through his vents of tributes he killed. The guy was completely terrified that night and ran out of his house, not even bothering to check if it was a prank or not. We laughed our asses off until one of the oldest Victors we have, Gerta Neiman, looked out her porch and caught us. She didn't turn us in but warned that she would be watching and would if she caught us again.

Was it mean? Of course it was, but none of us cared. Not at the time anyway. The Victors were people to look up to, but they were also our teachers, and what fourteen year old doesn't like messing with adults? Certainly we did, but you wouldn't think that now. No, none of those Victors would ever dream I'd do something like that now, when I was all but a perfect Academy student ever since Jay began training me one on one. Sure I complained to Katniss, but no one else.

Which brings me back to Katniss, and just in time too. The smile has instantly been brought back to my face subconsciously at how our meeting went. Sure it could have gone better, but in all honestly I expected it to be worse. I know the girl better than she does herself sometimes, but she honestly surprised me today. Guess it just goes to show you that appearances deceive, for her and me. A good thing since that's part of my pre-arena strategy, and it's going to start off with a bang right now as the door opens.

It's time to show the whole of Panem that Gale Hawthorne is the new boy in town, and he's taking it by storm.

* * *

Katniss's POV

Even as I walk out of the Justice Building after seeing Gale before he goes to the arena, it's not exactly walking per say. More like…shockingly moving subconsciously towards outside. If you had told me that that was how our last meeting would go before he left for the Hunger Games, even now I wouldn't believe you. I'd tell you that you were being ridiculous, that we were just best friends; always have been, always will be. But that…

He asked me to kiss him goodbye. I knew that he was feeling not as confident as he tried to appear to everyone else but me, but not that he was _that_ worried. I didn't even know what that meant! I mean…we're just friends! And…I honestly couldn't tell if he was being completely serious that he actually wanted me to kiss him because he liked me or if he was joking, or if he was just that worried and didn't know what else to do. He tried to pull it off as joking but I know him too well, there was something else in it. And honestly it sounds stupid, but it frightened me a little.

It's not like I've never been kissed before. Heck, because of Academy rules I'm not innocent at all. When you're sixteen at the Academy no one older than you actually tells you this 'minor' detail because they find it immensely funny apparently to see your reaction when the Victors and teachers tell you that no tribute in the Hunger Games can be innocent at all, something about having a leg up so you could face anything. And what that basically means is a loss of innocence in everything. Including…well, _sexually_.

I'd kissed a guy once before, in the only game of spin the bottle I was forced to do when I was thirteen but I never saw much of a point in relationships or anything, too focused on the Academy and getting my shot at being a tribute. And when that came…well let's just say Gale got a good laugh at my face which was still shell-shocked even later that day when I met him in the woods. He didn't even need me to tell him what was wrong and I never had to tell him, he knew instantly and just started laughing. I swear I wanted to give him a death glare at that point, but the shock of it was still setting in so I didn't even bother doing anything back. But I had to do it, and by the end of that month. So basically everyone in my class who hadn't had sex yet (quite a few actually, most of us are too busy for relationships outside of the kids at the Academy and even then there aren't too many) basically paired up and got it done. It was especially awkward because I knew the guy had liked me at some point when we were younger because one of the girls in our class told me, but we just got it over with and I like to pretend it never happened.

But though I know Gale is probably far more experienced than I am with that sort of stuff because he is handsome and the girls fall all over him, I never really paid much attention to it before. As long as he spent time hunting with me and all that was between us was friendship, I didn't bother asking him about it. Friendship was all we had and all I ever wanted. But then he had to go and ask that.

My first reaction was obviously disbelief and to say hell no, but then I got to thinking. What if he really is legitimately worried about whether he's coming home a Victor or not and it wasn't just a fleeting distress? Then I got to thinking of how he was nervous last night…sure he was all confidence when he volunteered, but that doesn't mean anything. He's better at acting than I am, and he wouldn't dare show all of Panem much less his fellow tributes any fear. But me, sure. So…what if he actually just wanted to show me how much I meant to him before he possibly died? I couldn't think that way, because it was just too painful and I sure as hell wasn't going to let him.

So what did I do? I heard the peacekeepers at the door and knew I didn't have time to talk to him about it and even then I didn't think I could bring myself to do what he asked, but I couldn't just leave it at that. So I told him I'd do it when he came home a Victor. If he needed a confidence boost or motivation or whatever then that would probably do it, but it also was a relief for me. If…_when_ he came back, I knew he certainly wouldn't forget and I'd have to do it then, but I had time to actually process it and think hard about it until that happened. It's a lot to dump on your best friend just out of the blue when you leave for the Hunger Games, after all. I didn't know what else to do.

I'm still in a sort of daze when I walk out into the bright sunlight to make my way home that I almost miss another half surprise, my mother waiting for me. I don't know where Dad and Prim are but maybe they're with the Hawthorne's or already on their way home or something. But really I know it means that mom probably wants to talk about something, and I've already had so much dumped on me today that I'm honestly not in the mood. But she doesn't speak for at least the first part of our long walk home, leaving me to my scrambled thoughts on the thing with Gale. In fact, I'm so in my own world that I almost miss her speaking to me eventually about halfway home.

"So how was saying goodbye?" she questions me, trying to keep the conversation light but there's a bite to her tone that I don't understand.

"Fine." I reply shortly, not wanting to talk about it. I'm certainly not going to tell her the last part of it, that's for sure. I'm not going to tell anyone at all. I'll just brood about it and try to understand what it means until he comes back and then…well, I don't know yet. It's still settling in. I just hope she takes my response as I don't want to talk the rest of the way home, but of course that's too much to ask for.

"It was hard for you, wasn't it?" mom asks me, but the way she says it implies that she can guess, but I feel like it's a stupid question.

"Of course it was mom, Gale's my best friend." I admit, but the way she looks at me makes me fidget. Why is she asking me this? It's obvious isn't it? Or is she just trying to make some dumb point that she's right in the Hunger Games being bad, that Gale stupidly volunteered for death. "But I'm not worried. He's going to win."

She sighs and shakes her head slightly, but makes her voice softer. "You don't know that for sure, Katniss. Anything could happen in the arena."

I know she's just trying to comfort me in case the worst happens, but all it accomplishes is making me angry. She knows I don't like talking about that kind of stuff as it is, why is she reminding me? Doesn't she know that I know that? Maybe she thinks I'm just in denial and I guess in a way a part of me is, but if I think like that…no, I can't. I won't and he'll make it home. "I do know that." I protest, crossing my arms over my chest. "And what do you know? You know what he can do and yet you have zero confidence in him."

"It's not zero, I know he has a decent chance of winning." She replies, much to my surprise. My mother hates the Hunger Games, never shows anything but contempt for the volunteers. And she's right as bad as that sounds, most of the time they do die. If they didn't then we'd have a lot more Victors, one every year and of course always at least one of our tributes has to die because there's only one Victor. But never, even for someone she's known since they were a baby, did I expect her to admit that.

"Well I'm glad you understand then." I exclaim, not really knowing how to answer her.

"It's you I'm worried about if the worst happens." She states somberly, trying to put an arm around my shoulders. I'm so confused and shocked by the last hour or so's events that I let her though I normally would shrug it off, looking up at her face which is filled with concern, none of the normal contempt in sight.

"I'll…be alright." I declare, though even to me it doesn't sound convincing. It makes me uncomfortable just thinking about it and therefore I tend to just push those thoughts aside, but she's making it difficult to do at the moment.

She smiles sadly, but I know she doesn't believe me for a second. "I think this might finally show you why I don't like the Hunger Games, watching someone you love in there fighting for his life."

…What? Where is this conversation supposed to go? It can't just be her giving an example of why the Hunger Games are bad and trying to convince me not to volunteer next year, right? But…Gale. Of course I love him, he's my best friend. But what kind of love does she mean? Why am I taking this so weirdly? I put it down to my most recent conversation with Gale and have to hide a blush, but I tell my mom the truth. "He's my best friend, but I know he can do it."

Geez, even I can tell that I sound like I'm on repeat now. Defending him and myself with assurance and the truth and yet it somehow isn't starting to feel like it. My head is too muddled right now to think it through more.

She gives me a hug and stops before the gate of the fence that guards our house before looking back at me, one hand on my shoulder and the other on my cheek. She has a small smile that's unbelieving and almost…knowing I'm in denial of something. "I know sweetie, I know."

Then she leaves me there and goes into the house, leaving me wondering what exactly that was all about after all. We've never really understood each other on certain things before, but now I feel like she's speaking another language to me and she expects me to know it fluently. And now is not the time for me to learn a whole new language when I'm already so bad with words and feelings in my own.

* * *

"Dad, I'm leaving!" I yell from the doorway some hours after I came home from the Justice Building with my mother and our awkward conversation. After how muddled my mind was I realized that I wasn't ready to really think yet, and I've decided to just put it aside until trying to sleep later tonight, choosing instead to focus on something I _can_ understand; watching the reapings and analyzing Gale's fellow tributes. It's logical, part guesswork, and has absolutely nothing to do with feelings. That is something I can deal with right now.

"Alright have fun! Be careful coming home later." He calls from the living room where he's doing something with Prim, waiting for the reapings to come on where he'll watch them here. I, however, am going to the Academy to watch them. It's not necessarily required, but most of us go there to watch a lot of the Hunger Games anyway. Since we don't have training so to speak once the Games start after the prep week which is this upcoming week, most of us still come just to hang out and analyze the Hunger Games together because we know that we'll be tested on it later. Besides, most of us just like to watch them with either our families or other Academy students because unfortunately there are plenty of people in our district like my mother who don't care for them. They don't say it, but you know they judge you for it. And since I learned many years ago that no matter how nice it is to watch the prep week with my dad, I can't stand being in the same room as my mother when they're on. So the Academy it is.

"I will." I hold back a roll of my eyes even though I know he can't see it. I guess it's good that my dad's so protective of me but it's not that necessary. He knows that I always carry a knife and even if there were many people who would try to hurt me I'm not so sure they would. That and I'd easily injure them if not kill them on the spot. I do know how to use weapons after all. But I know he's just being a dad so I let it go most of the time.

Closing the door behind me, I stroll into the setting sun that actually looks kind of pretty against the mountains that surround three sides of our district, the biggest one by far being SIM that from here just looks like a regular old mountain but I know better. I've never actually been in there and I know with my Dad's job that he's on orders not to say much, but it's pretty common knowledge that the SIM holds hovercrafts for the Capitol, that part of the Peacekeeper training is held in there, and that there are weapons and computers and some kind of security stuff in there.

Basically it means you don't mess with that mountain because it holds just about everything the Capitol needs, and we're a lucky enough district to have their trust with it, a trust that will never be broken. They treat us right in return after all; I hear that in the worse off districts some people don't even eat every day, and I've only ever missed a meal when I forgot or if I'm sick. But they did it to themselves; if they weren't so resistant than they would be fine.

The walk to the Academy takes me a good twenty-five minutes because my family lives in one of the villages in the southern part of the district and the Academy is in the center of it, near the Justice Building, SIM, and Victor's Village. But it's a warm beginning of summer night and I don't mind, and I arrive in no time. Once I check in with the guard at the door I make my way through the halls towards the theater which has a giant screen and comfortable seats to watch it from, enough seats to fill all the Academy students and staff. Most of the year it's not filled at all because one or two classes uses the screen at a time to watch past Hunger Games, but tonight it's packed. I'm instantly filled with a sense of home as strange as that sounds, and find my way to an open spot near the front, sitting down next to a girl in my class, Rumi Whitmer. Rumi and I aren't exactly friends, but since we both sort of stick to ourselves during training and are sort of quiet for Academy students and if we need a partner for something we usually do it together. She nods and gives me a small smile at my appearance next to her before going back to her book, something about Martial Arts. I'm not that good at it, preferring my bow or even knives to hand-to-hand, but she loves it. And since it's not likely that she'll ever be a tribute she'll probably just do it for fun unless she tries to be a peacekeeper. I know her mom wants her to go that route but we haven't talked about it much so I don't know for sure.

We sit in respective silence for a while as the rest of the students chat excitedly, waiting for the screen to change from the Capitol symbol to the reaping recap. I'm not really paying attention until it comes on, when the whispers die down and everyone is quiet, quite a few with paper and pencils in hand to take notes on the tributes. Me, I'm just going to worry about the ones that are potential threats to Gale. And since that basically means District's 1 and 4 and maybe one or two more, I'll do my notes after watching their reapings more thoroughly later this week on my own as well as the tribute parade tomorrow. I'm already way invested in these particular Hunger Games, I don't need to take notes to remember. Heck, it's probably all I'll be thinking about until they're done.

District One comes on after a brief introduction and comradery between Caeser Flickerman and Claudius Templeton, the interviewer and MC of the Hunger Games respectively. The girl comes up first, a gorgeous blonde girl named Glimmer something that is reaped and gives a wink to the camera. I know better than to write her off as a dumb blonde bimbo because she is from District 1, and since she didn't volunteer and no one did for her I can only assume that she's on whatever list or whatever it is that District 1 does with their trained kids to decide who will go. But she can't possibly be too much of a threat to Gale even then so I mentally put her on a list to watch her, but I'm not worried about it. A seventeen year old boy is reaped but someone else volunteers right away for him, a tall guy named Marvel. He's decent looking I guess, but not near as good looking as Gale. I blush at my thoughts instantly going that route but luckily Rumi is too invested in watching the screen to notice it. Focus Katniss. Okay, so he volunteered so he has to be good. Watch him closely.

Next is our district, and a little cheer goes through the room before shushes instantly quiets it, waiting for the reaping to begin. That boy reaped has his name called and then you hear Gale's confident, proud voice loud and clear to volunteer, and I can't help but smile a little. A few cheers come from some of the younger girls in the room but I let it go, because it means that they probably think he'll win too. Clove volunteers for the girl reaped and while she has plenty of confidence and seems deadly just up there on the stage, I already know what she can do so I'm not worried. I know Gale has a plan and he knows what Clove can do, and that means he's not worried because he knows how to beat her.

The reapings go on and I'm mildly disappointed about the amount of confidence I have in District 4's tributes because they seem to be lacking from those in the past from their district, their most well-known the sex symbol of Panem, the one and only Finnick Odair who won at the tender age of fourteen. But then my disappointment goes away when I realize that they've only given Gale two less potential real threats, and I'm satisfied enough.

As usual, most of the other districts don't have any potential at all. In fact, it's not until District 11 when a large ox of a boy is reaped, his dark skin glistening in the heat of the sun and he just gives the appearance of being menacing that whispers go through the room. It's not that District 11 hasn't had any good tributes before, but this boy is a threat without doing anything; you can just tell. It makes me a little worried for Gale, but I know his mind is right now gearing up and thinking of six different ways to defeat the guy and I calm down a little. But that doesn't mean I'm not watching him any less. This guy whatever his name is will definitely be on my watch list.

In District 12 the girl like usual is a frail looking black haired thing, but the boy actually looks stocky for their district and is blonde. He's shocked clearly to be reaped, but I don't really have faith in their district so I'm not worried about him. Just because he's probably part of the best off of their district by the fact that he doesn't look like he weighs just a hundred pounds if that doesn't mean he can do much. Besides, their district has been a joke from the beginning of the Hunger Games. Their last Victor was in the second Quarter Quell twenty-four years ago for Panem's sake, and a drunk at that. No, I'm not worried about this kid.

Caesar and Claudius wrap up the show and the screen goes off as I think hard about what I'll have to do now. Okay, so his only real threats that I can tell will be District 1, specifically that guy Marvel, Clove of course, and that monstrous guy from District 11. So four people to watch. Not bad at all. Gale's got this.

"Hey Kat?" I hear from behind me, and I have a mixed feeling of cringing and rolling my eyes, as well as wanting to emit a noise of annoyed disgust. Of course he'd be right behind me. I'm honestly surprised he didn't announce his presence sooner.

"I told you not to call me that, Cato." I mutter in annoyance before turning around in my chair, the blonde boy with an amused smirk on his face I'd love to punch off meeting my gaze. Cato Evans is not exactly my friend, but we're not really enemies either. He's more like…well, I guess you could call my rival. Always has been since we were six and started here, because he thinks he's better than me and I think I'm better than him. But mostly I think he just likes to annoy the crap out of me because he finds some kind of pleasure in it.

"And like I always say, I don't care." He grins with a look in his eyes that says take that, but I know how to annoy him too.

"You'll care when I volunteer for the Quarter Quell next year. When do you volunteer?" I taunt him, knowing it pisses him off that he hasn't been chosen for the 76th Hunger Games. They haven't chosen the boy or girl yet, but I know he's annoyed to no end I got the Quell of all things. His twisted, annoyed face meets mine and I have to smile. Two can play this game, Cato.

"I would of this year had your boyfriend hadn't." he bites back with a 'take that' expression, and I roll my eyes.

"He's not my boyfriend." I exclaim, annoyed. What is with everyone thinking we're more than friends? My mother, Cato, probably others…dang it Gale, why did you even have to go with that train of thought? If he hadn't asked me to kiss him just hours ago I wouldn't feel like blushing furiously right now.

"Whatever." Cato shrugs, clearly not believing me even though he knows it's true. "My bet's on Clove anyway. She's awesome."

"You're just rooting for Clove to piss me off." I point out, because I know it's true. He's always sort of known her but not really, and he knows that Gale is my best friend since childhood.

"Maybe." He admits with another shrug, but then gives me another smirk and I'm honestly tempted this time to punch it off. I wouldn't even care that I'd get in trouble at this point. "The best part is that it's working."

I roll my eyes again as I stand up to leave, but what annoys me most is that I know he's right. I always tell myself not to let him get to me but fail a majority of the time. Damn Cato.

"Whatever." I reply lamely before walking away, hearing his amused snickers behind me. It only reminds me that I may look like the quiet girl that's amazing with a bow and hunting and even bagged the Quell, but I'm really just a girl who can be annoyed by boys. Boys who try and boys who are supposed to just be your best friend and then ask for more and confuse the hell out of you.

No, no one knows that side of me usually. Appearances deceive, and I intend to keep it that way.

* * *

**Hello my lovely readers! Unfortunately for this story I will be leaving tomorrow morning for a five day vacation with no internet, and therefore the next update will not be until Sunday night or Monday. Sorry, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter! **

**-S**


	6. Strategy

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing to be different.-Michael Porter_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Gale's POV

After the reaping recap tonight, my mind couldn't stop reeling. Maybe it's good, maybe it's just because I'm a strategist, but for some reason last night it became far more real to me. I've dreamt and daydreamed, thought endless nights and days since I was young about my arena and how I would accomplish being a Victor for me, for my family, and for my district, but now it's different somehow. Those faceless tributes in my thoughts now have faces, and now I can try to assemble more plans and change some based on who I can already tell will be the threats. Clove has a notebook that she scribbled away in tonight as the reapings went on and then Enobaria led her away more likely than not to discuss it, but I didn't take any notes.

I thought Jay might want to talk to me about it too but he was in a strange mood after the reaping, and I know him well enough to not get into that and just let him come to me when he's ready. I don't know what's wrong with him but I know whatever it is he'll get his shit together soon, so once he left the room right after Fangula I paced back and forth for a while as an old Hunger Games came on the station, to my knowledge the 67th by the blonde haired Cashmere De'Montfort at the starting plate who became Victor of that abandoned city arena. But since I have far more important things to deal with than her, I turn off the television here in the living room of the 2nd floor of the training center and go to my room, intent on going to bed for some rest before the Remake Center and the Parade tomorrow.

But after going to my room and changing and getting into the cool silk sheets of the large comfortable bed, I'm wide awake. I attempt to sleep for maybe an hour before I know that's just not happening anytime soon, and get up and go to the desk on the left side of the room, looking around the drawers before coming up with a few blank notebooks. They're different than Clove's but maybe Fangula snuck it on the train for her, probably something she's been working on for a while. I'm tempted to go find it and see what she's got, but I don't bother thinking of a plan to do that for two reasons; one, because I really don't care since I know what Clove can do and I can think of at least ten different ways I can take her out, and two because for all I know she'll be sleeping with the thing. I'm not really against cheating, but I need her to trust me at least a little if half of my plans to take her out will work.

Finding a pen and taking out a blue notebook, I go back to the bed with them and turn on the lamp by the side of the bed, propping up two pillows behind me and one on my lap so that I can write comfortably. But as I take off the cap of the pen and put it to paper, I can't seem to find anywhere to begin. Where would you begin in this sort of thing anyway?

Just for something to do, I write down a number one through twelve on the top of the first twelve pages, deciding that that's as good as any of a place to start. I didn't really pay much attention to names just yet, but I know that the important ones I'll learn by tomorrow or the next day anyway so I'll just go off of what I saw.

Under District One I put Glimmer and Marvel on either side of the District One page, remembering them because I was actually paying attention at that point since I knew they would unofficially already be my allies. Glimmer was well…I guess a blonde bombshell would be the way to put it. Don't get me wrong, I do love Katniss but I'm still male; I'm not immune to other girls' looks. But though I know since she's from District 1 and no one volunteered for her, she's got to have some training. Still, that doesn't mean much. From what I could tell watching their reaping she seems to be trying to get sponsors on just her looks, which isn't a bad idea. If I'm being honest with myself, I plan on using my own looks to garner sponsors as well even before my training score comes out so I don't blame her for that. But somehow just looking at her I know she can't have that stellar of a skill to win, certainly not beat me. But during training the day after tomorrow I'll get a much better outlook at what she can or can't do. Still, I put a start by her name to indicate an allie as well as an X for a threat.

Marvel I do the same marks and tap my pen against the paper trying to think of him, what I remember of it. He did volunteer just like most tributes from that district, which means that if District 1 does it similarly to our district then he would have been preselected to volunteer, which means that he's the 'best of the best' for the guys this year. It's certainly something to think about and I'll be watching him very closely, because he may be similar to me. We have a similar build and height from what I could tell but though he tried hard to please the crowd, he's not exactly the hottest thing on the block. Certainly Glimmer beat him hands down in that department, but the Hunger Games isn't about looks. I know from watching the Hunger Games that it certainly helps with sponsors (Finnick Odair being the best example, Cashmere not far behind), but the ugliest person could win in that arena and no one could do a thing about it. Certainly there have been some rather…unattractive Victors so to speak. They seem to just fade away though, still a Victor but overlooked easily. And that's one thing I don't plan on being, because I would love to be as popular as Finnick if not more. If I'm going to go for it all, the reward is going to be the same.

District 2 I don't put myself down, but I do put Clove. Since I do know her and what she can do I scribble furiously what I have stored away in my head, putting down all her strengths and weaknesses, weapons and potential strategies in the arena. It easily fills the first side of the page and I know to leave the rest of it for later, guessing that after I know her score and how she plays the interviews, how she interacts with the other tributes as well as our alliance will certainly play into my own strategy.

Moving on, I come to District 3. I don't recall their names and neither particularly caught my eye so I simply put boy and girl there and move on to District 4, the last district of the classic alliance. Neither of them struck me as the best tributes by far and neither volunteered, but since they are from District 4 I'd assume that they have some training. They didn't exactly look terrified like most tributes that are reaped so I'll just have to pay attention to them in training, see what they're worth. So I put the alliance and threat marks next to the names Havana and Slone, before moving on.

District 5 didn't seem too threatening like normal, but that tiny girl with fire red hair caught my eye. I don't really know why other than the fact that her hair was so bright because she didn't look like she could lift a twenty pound weight let alone wield a weapon, but there was something about the look in her eye. Oh sure she seemed shocked to be reaped and certainly not happy, but there was a certain gleam to her eye that I caught, and I don't like it. From what I could tell Clove didn't catch it because she seemed bored by the reaping, but maybe it was just me overthinking. I mean, Katniss would be considered a small girl and I certainly know what she can do. Maybe I would even write her off right away if I happened to be watching her be reaped from a different district, maybe like Twelve or something. And though it seems farfetched that anyone from a district aside from One, Two, and Four has training, it wouldn't kill me to watch this girl so I put a tentative X by her name before moving on.

No one from Six through Ten gave me any reason to worry or even think about them other than bloodbaths, and I'm pretty certain that none of them will counter that in training so I pretty much skip their pages aside from writing boy and girl on them just in case. When I come to District 11 I quickly write girl and move on, seeing that the girl couldn't have been more than twelve years old and therefore nothing to worry about. Her district partner, however, most definitely worries me.

Thresh is not exactly the first potential threat to come out of District 11, but he's certainly the most threatening just by size in recent memory of the Hunger Games. With his dark skin and eyes, his height and weight easily more than mine, and the sheer strength you could practically see exuding off of him, it's not hard to tell he's a contender in these Games and he hasn't even done anything yet. Quite frankly, I'd assume most people would be terrified of him. Certainly if he was from one of the alliance districts he'd probably be volunteering, but as it is he was just reaped. Must either have a lot of tesserae, their district got lucky, or perhaps they even rigged the reaping to have a decent shot at a Victor.

Since he's definitely one to watch I put an X by his name, but I hesitate to put a star for an ally. While he would certainly be helpful in it, I don't think I want him. Being from one of the poorer outer districts means that he's not exactly the most trustworthy, and if I'm being honest with myself it would be difficult for me to sleep with that guy next to me because I'd be afraid he'd turn on me before I could turn on him, because an outsider in the alliance doesn't exactly fit into my plans. It's not unheard of for an outsider to be in the alliance, but it's not common. And while usually the rest of the alliance takes them out before they're an issue, something tells me this guy won't be. No, it's decided, I don't want him in the alliance and if the rest of them do, tough. He's better off on his own so that when we find him it's an easy outnumbered game.

Moving on to District 12 they don't really strike me as anything threatening like usual, so I just put boy and girl and move on. Since I'm at the end of the districts I turn to the next page and write alliance on the top, putting down the names of the six that should be in it and will be the only six in it if I have any say. After that I don't know much else I can do other than write down my ideas and strategies which I'm tentative to do just on the off chance that Clove or someone finds this, so instead I close it and hide it under the bed with the pen, praying that the avoxes that clean the room won't bother to check there or move it if they do before turning off the lamp and going to sleep.

* * *

"Oh you're simply gorgeous!" one of the Capitolite girls on my prep team squeals again, batting her eyelashes at me as she puts my hair in place again. Really at this point I don't think it's necessary, but she keeps finding hairs to adjust.

"I really could just eat you up." Another of them giggles with hungry, lustful eyes, taking in my naked form in front of her as I stand on the ground with my prep team doing the final touches before I meet my stylist. I force back another grimace in disgust for two reasons; one, because as shallow as it seems I'm going to use my looks to get sponsors and if my prep team can't get over me I know the rest of the Capitolite women probably won't be able to either, and two, because pissing them off probably isn't going to help anything by telling them I'm not interested. Aside from the fact that I couldn't imagine liking one of them, I already have a girl back home I want, and I need to get back to her for that kiss and hopefully more.

So instead, I go for the flirting approach, starting the show early. "I wouldn't mind." I give them a seductive smile, and all three of the women gasp and giggle, especially as I give them a provocative wink. They fall like putty into my willing hands, and I can tell that I'm not going to have a problem with this angle. The attention just seems to drive me further, and when one of them touches my bare chest now hairless, she sighs contently and I can tell she wants more.

"Alright that's enough. Leave the poor boy alone for a few minutes." A women's voice reprimands authoritatively, and I glance up to find a women who if I could tell between the Capitolite garb and purple sparkly hair who reminds me of a fairy of some kind from one of Posy's books at home. Her team of desperate flirts frowns and sighs but follows her order, and flit out of the room giggling again to themselves before the door closes. I don't speak after my gaze comes back to my stylist, who is watching me with a look that seems desperate to stay neutral before she starts walking around me. Knowing she's assessing my every part, every flaw it makes me a little self-conscious but that's probably more because I have no clothes on than anything. At least other than her and my prep team the rest of the country I'm trying to flirt with won't see me naked.

"So Gale Hawthorne, welcome to the Capitol." She begins as she's behind me, and I'm almost surprised that she knows my name already though that sounds stupid. She's my stylist, of course she would have seen the reaping and known that I was hers to dress up. "I'm Plumagi, your stylist.

Plumagi? Like plums and magic? You've got to be fucking kidding me. Makes you wonder if she's dressed like a purple fairy because she had the name or she changed it to match her style choice. Honestly, the latter one I wouldn't put past her because this is the Capitol, but whatever.

"Nice to meet you." I smile at her with a nod as she gives me a calculating stare accompanied by handing me a robe which I quickly put on.

"Oh I can work with you." She smirks before gesturing I follow her to a table maybe twenty feet away, and as I sit down she presses a button on the table and an entire meal pops up out of the table itself. Well that's cool. The food smells great too, and with the scents of the delectable meal hitting me I realize how hungry I am. It's not like I haven't had food similar to this before but this is the Capitol; it's bound to be fancier and better. Plus they have a much cooler way to get it than us. I could certainly get used to this.

"Good thing, because I think you're stuck with me." I joke before picking up my fork, but she doesn't and just assesses me again, arms crossed. It doesn't actually make me uncomfortable like it probably should, but all the same I stare at her and wait for her to say something.

"Let me ask you something Gale." She begins, not looking anywhere but my face. "Do you have any issues with using your looks to garner attention?"

"No." I reply, because it's pretty much my plan anyway. Flirting and winking can get you far, and while I don't really try to use my looks to persuade people to give me what I want on a regular basis (aside from maybe hooking up with girls in the past for fun), this is the Hunger Games. Besides, they're already going to be looking at me anyway, might as well milk it for all it's worth.

"Good. We're not going to have any problems then." She smiles knowingly and almost deviously, and I would question it if she didn't wink at me. It's good to know that the stylist is on board with the plan and I didn't even have to tell her. Seems like these Games are already falling into place, and that Victor crown has begun etching my name on it. I can feel it.

* * *

Katniss's POV

"Parade's starting in an hour. Let's go dad!" I yell from the kitchen where I'm finishing scarfing down a sandwich for dinner, not wanting to be late. Dad and I are going to watch it in the square tonight with the Hawthornes because it's required for everyone to be there at least one day a week for the Hunger Games. Mom and Prim don't want to go tonight so they'll have to go either for the training scores or the interviews later this week, but I wanted to go today. I know Gale doesn't have any say in what the stylists put him in, but I can't see it mattering. Besides, I want to see how the crowd reacts to him, because that will indicate more than anything how many sponsors he might get. And it's not going to be terribly fun watching that with my mother in the room so Dad's going with me.

"I'm coming, just give me a second." He yells from somewhere in the house, but after I put my dishes away in the sink and come out into the living room to wait for him, he's still not here.

"Dad?" I call for him again, but this time there's no answer. Frustrated, I go through the house looking for him, opening doors and closing the empty ones until I find him in his office, the basement of our house really. He's sitting there with papers and files astray on the desk and talking on the phone. Glancing up from the paper he's reading, he puts up a finger for me to wait and stay quiet before wrapping up his call, putting the phone down.

"Sorry honey, there was a problem at work I needed to help fix." He explains as he gathers up his papers and taps them against the desk in a neat pile, placing them in a file before putting it back into the cabinet.

"Something bad?" I question, though I'm not surprised when he shakes his head at me and sighs.

"Katniss…"

"I know, I know." I sigh, knowing that I shouldn't have even bothered asking if he could tell me anything. Part of working at SIM is having a very tight contract, and much of that means that you can't say a word to anyone outside of SIM about it. Dad's lucky enough to have their trust that he can have files here at home.

"Sorry." He apologizes again, but he knows I'm not mad. "Let's get going."

With that we go out of the basement together and out the door, fast walking towards the square and excitedly predicting what we'll see on the screens for the Parade, what the costumes and carriages will be like. I even mention that I'm wondering how many sponsors Gale will get and hope that this will help him. To my surprise, dad laughs.

"Oh I don't think there's any worry about that."

"Really?" I answer, because I certainly think there could be some worry. What if his stylist picked a sucky costume or something?

"I've known Gale for his whole life, and it's not going to surprise me if all the Capitol girls fall all over him. They certainly seem to here." he smiles and my mouth drops open a little though it shouldn't. I mean, I guess I knew that he had looks but I never really thought about it before. He was my best friend, what he did outside of hanging out with me and training wasn't really my business though I wasn't exactly deaf. I know girls talked about him and wanted him, and yeah Dad's probably right. But for the first time it annoys me. It bothers me that the Capitol girls will want him.

I'm being stupid, I know. That's what will get him sponsors right? I should want those Capitolites to want him like the girls here do. I do want that, but a sting of something pinches me, gives me a bad feeling in my gut. God good, what the hell is wrong with me?

"True." I finally answer Dad, hoping that ends the conversation and he doesn't see that it actually bothers me. I'm glad when the talking ends with that and we spend the rest of the walk to the square in a comfortable silence.

And even then, I've never been so happy to see a square full of people and breathe easier as we make our way through them, finding the Hawthornes at the front since they're family of one of the tributes. I vaguely recognize Clove's family nearby but only because Clove's older sister looks just like her, but really I don't care about them and focus on the Hawthornes. They're all anticipating Gale's entrance like Dad and I are but the parade hasn't started yet, so I focus on distracting myself from those Capitol girls by talking to Posy. She really is adorable, and with a fleeting thought I think she's the only girl that I'd want talking about Gale because she's his sister. God, stop it Katniss. Get a grip!

I hear cheering from my place where I'm crouched down to Posy's level and stand up as Marc picks up Posy so that she can see, and I find myself looking at the screen where the District One carriage has just rolled out, effectively beginning the parade.

They're dressed in clothes dripping with jewels, and I almost roll my eyes at it. Luxury, of course. They're always covered in jewels and I idly wonder why their stylists are always praised so much for it. Not very original if you ask me. Then again, you can pretty much make anyone look good if they're dripping in diamonds or rubies or pearls, so that could do it. Glimmer of course didn't need much help in the looks department and she seems to actually be a diamond covered in them, and the shouts of the crowd seem to agree. Marvel looks decent too, but it's pretty clear Glimmer is stealing the show in that carriage.

Another cheer, louder this time, comes from the crowd around and behind me and my gaze turns instantly towards the back of the screen where two tiny figures dressed in some kind of gold armor are on a gilded carriage driven by two chestnut horses, and we wait eagerly for the screens to do a close up of them. Our tributes.

I nearly lose my breath when the screen does zoom in, and my trained eyes instantly go towards Gale, overlooking Clove. He's in a golden bronze armor of sorts, appearing almost like a gladiator from one of my history books at school when we learned about an ancient empire called Rome where gladiators fought sort of like the Hunger Games, except it was just one competitor at a time and sometimes it was a lion or something. The armor makes him look tall, strong, all the things I already know he is. His dark hair is a messed up on purpose look and his piercing grey eyes seem to sparkle as he waves and sends out winks and smiles and exudes confidence.

The shouts and squeals that meet him, his name being screamed in high pitched voices and the roses and flowers and confetti that shower him seem to only build his confidence, and I have to smile. Why did I ever think he would have trouble getting sponsors? He could be in the worst costume in history and still that face would get him sponsors. He's stealing the whole show and it's just begun.

But as the squeals and giggles continue from the crowds, here and on the screen, my smile starts to falter. Alright, I get it, you want to sponsor him. Don't take it overboard. But of course they don't listen to me, and I find myself more and more annoyed though I know it's irrational. And even as the other carriages start to come out I can't seem to focus on the screens any more, my annoyance turning to a sort of anger.

Damn you Gale for putting anything in my head that we could be more than just friends.


	7. Fear

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_Fear cuts deeper than swords-George R.R. Martin_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Katniss's POV

The morning after the Opening Parade I'm feeling bitter, though it doesn't have anything to do with the rain that's softly sounding in my room when I wake to a grey, dim sky. It's more to do with the parade last night and if I'm being honest with myself, I miss Gale. I don't ever recall going multiple days without seeing or talking to him and it's already getting to me, but I try to push it away as I force myself to get up for school, going through the monotonous motions without really thinking about it. Probably because my mind is still stuck on last night.

As soon as I realized that the screams and squeals for Gale were bothering me instead of simply making me happy that he was going to get sponsors, I had never wished more that I had just stayed home to watch the parade instead of being in the very public square, at the front of it with Gale's family no less. I didn't know what to do with it so I paid very close attention to the rest of the parade, more than I ever had before or really needed to if I'm being honest. No one else was paying too close attention to the rest of the parade, just glancing at the screen and from the conversations around me that I could eavesdrop on they were mostly still talking about our tributes. But no one missed District 12, that's for sure.

They've never really made a splash in the Opening Parade or anything before, being that their district is coal mining and you really can't make that too appeasing. The only year I can distinctly remember them being different and talked about was when their stylist actually had them naked covered in coal dust for the parade when I was nine years old. I didn't really register that it was particularly embarrassing or shocking myself at that time, but the crowds around me certainly did. Some were gasping, some were putting their hands over their children's eyes, but most were laughing at the ridiculousness of it. But this year they did make a splash, and it's actually good, not embarrassing in the least. They came out literally on fire, as if they were coals burning through the night. There wasn't a ton of makeup on their faces so you could clearly recognize them, and the crowds shouted their names in awe.

Immediately I was annoyed with this, but I'm still not particularly worried. So what if Twelve made an impression at the parade for once? That's all the stylist, not the tributes. Any tributes would have looked good in that costume, and what attention they've received from it won't matter when their scores come out, and when they become just two more bloodbaths like every year. So even though the cameras during President Snow's speech couldn't stay away from them as they burned like a beacon in the darkening sky, I stayed calm. I could tell as the camera came to Gale and Clove that he was annoyed by it too, but he stayed composed and focused on the President instead.

But still, that didn't stop me from sneaking out of my room last night after the rest of my family had gone to bed, turning on the television in the living room at low volume and flipping through channels until I found what I was looking for. It was interviews from after the parade today, going through the stylists and how they felt about the reaction to their designs, what it entails for their tributes. It's on District 7 when I find it so I mute the volume as to not wake up anyone until it gets to District 11, waiting for the stylist I really want to know about.

His name is Cinna, a surprisingly normal looking guy for the Capitol (and considering he's a stylist) and his partner who seems like a normal Capitolite that came up with the fire creation. He speaks in a quiet self-assured tone and seems to be pleased with the reaction to his design, but extremely modest about it. It's perplexing, but he is a stylist; maybe all his differences are what make him stand out there, his own sort of splash in the crazy Capitol fashions. He stays mysterious about the designs for the interviews, but I already know that they're going to be good if the parade was any indication.

Still, I try to not stay too jealous that he's not with District 2. He is a new stylist and they are almost always given District 12 because they suck. Next year he'll certainly be upgraded, maybe even to our district. And then he could dress me for the Quarter Quell. It's certainly an enticing thought, and after turning off the television I went back to bed thinking of myself dressed in flames next year.

But all thoughts of my own stylist are gone this morning as my monotonous routine is completed, only the animosity left behind. Even Prim can tell that I'm not in a good mood today, but she knows me well enough to not say anything about it because it will only make it worse. Instead, the only indication she gives is the giant squeeze she gives me right before we put on our raincoats to walk to school, silently assuring me that she's here if I need to talk about it or be distracted. It's sweet and makes me feel a little better, but not enough to bring me out of my mood.

When we arrive at school after our ten minute walk in the rain and our shoes soaked from puddles, we part with a smile, mine halfassed before I sigh and go to my first class. The morning goes by slowly, me not really paying much attention to anything I'm supposed to be learning, and I'm never more grateful for the lunch bell to ring for years ten through twelve, all the fifteen and sixteen year olds at South being year eleven like me. Year thirteens get their own lunch since there's really no easy way to divide it except for threes, so they get that privilege. I make my way there with the rest of my classroom with my lunch bag in hand, sitting down at the normal table for lunch with the rest of the Academy students in my lunch, a group of about eight.

Since those who are chosen for the Academy aren't really selected equally from schools, I'm only one of two from my own grade at South so I'm glad that there are more of us in lunch. It's not so much that I talk to them; it's rather we understand each other better than the rest of the school. Most of the district enjoys the Hunger Games like we do, but there are a few like my mother who hate them, and some are more vocal about it. They don't like us, and while I know I can take them it's far easier to just ignore them all. And though I'd rather sit by myself at lunch, that group is far less likely to bug me if I'm with the rest of the Academy students so I do.

The atmosphere at our table is excitement and anticipation, the comradery between people here that only comes with the Hunger Games. I don't pay too much attention, but I do listen enough to pick up that most are betting on Gale, some on Clove, and one lone boy at the end of the table on someone named Thresh, who is I can only assume the giant boy from District 11 by his description of him. I just focus on my lunch while I think the same things that they're talking about when the girl next to me, Sierra who is a year younger, nudges me with her elbow. Coming out of my daze, I blink and look at her to find her watching me expectantly.

"Hmm?" I ask, assuming that she probably wanted something and I wasn't paying attention.

"I asked how Gale was feeling when he left about the Games. You saw him before he left, right? In the Justice Building?" she questions me, anticipating an answer. I'm not sure if she actually cares or if she just wants information from the best source she can find for her own betting purposes, but I guess it doesn't really matter.

"Yeah, I did." I confirm, just barely holding back a blush. It's almost sad since it was just a few days ago, but really the only thing I can remember with clarity is Gale asking me if I would kiss him. "He's been planning for a while, I know he's ready for anything." I reply instead of giving her details I probably wouldn't say anyway. Besides it is the truth, and if he's not ready than I know he will be before he gets on that starting plate. And if not…well, improvising is always an option.

"Oh what kind of plans?" another person at the table asks with interest, clearly eavesdropping. Suddenly I take a quick glance around the table and find that I'm the center of attention. Of course, I'm the one they can go to for anything about a tribute. It makes me a more than a little uncomfortable and only adds to my already bad mood, but it's not like I'm going to let them know that.

"Oh don't worry, he's got it all figured out. Gale is going to be the Victor." I smile evasively, but it's really to hide the truth. I actually have no freaking clue what any of Gale's plans are, though I could probably guess some of them from how well I know him. I guess I could have asked about it, but I never did.

"What makes you so sure?" a voice from behind me questions bitterly, and I turn with the rest of the table to find a group the next table over listening in as well to our conversation. And it's not just any table, today it happens to be a group that's like my mother. These people hate the Hunger Games, and I would bet money while our table was excited and betting, they were doing the opposite.

"Because I've known him practically my whole life." I answer, not going into it. But clearly that's not good enough, and the biggest boy at the table, clearly a leader of some kind of theirs, laughs unamusedly at my answer.

"You Maci's are all the same. Always confident in your 'warriors' that are trained to kill and heartless to boot, just for them to die." He mutters as I glare at him, and I can feel the rest of my table doing it too. And the way he says Maci's, which is a nickname based on the Academy name (original, right?), he's almost spitting it. Like it's a bad thing to be honored.

"What do you know about tributes?" one of the boys at our table questions, rolling his eyes. "You, always safe and sound because there are trained volunteers to always take your place. You wouldn't last five minutes in the arena."

"Oh you mean volunteers like you?" a girl from the other table counters, narrowing her eyes at him. "You, at eighteen, still going there for…what exactly? The 'honor' of it?"

At that the boy next to me half growls and looks like he wants to say something else to her (he's eighteen because he fell behind in classes one year and doesn't like to speak of it), but I stop him and stand up, walking towards their table, propelled by my anger and my sense of defense for what I and the rest of us are. I've had more than enough practice with mom, except normally I keep my responses in my head with her because she's still my mother and I have to live with her. But these kids, they need to learn something. And I know I'm just in the right mood to do it.

"Yes, volunteers like _me_." I begin with my eyes in slits, knowing that they wouldn't have the knowledge that I'm going to volunteer for the Quell next year but now's a good a time as any to let them know. It makes me sound better anyway. "You know, it's probably not wise to piss off people who know how to kill whether they go into the arena or not. A bow, a sword, a knife, even our bare hands…it's what we know how to do, which is why we have confidence in our tributes. We know what they can do because we can do it too."

"Are you really threatening us?" the leader asks, attempting confidence but his eyes give him away. Fear. Finally seeing that just maybe he should keep his opinions to himself, or at least do it from a safe distance. Because he knows every word is true, and I can feel the smirks and smiles behind me from where I stand. Is it the best way to go? Maybe not, but it's true. And though none of us would actually bring a bow or sword to school, it's a pretty safe bet that most of us at least have a knife. I do, and I can feel it protectively safe in my belt, covered by my shirt.

"No." I admit, because I wouldn't actually kill any of them, especially not in school. "Just teaching you how the world works."

But my hand goes to where my knife is, and I finally see real fear in their eyes as I smirk and go back to my table where I'm greeted by impressed looks and smiles. Who needs a weapon when you have fear? They won't be bothering us any time soon, that's for sure.

* * *

Gale's POV

"And then I said, 'buns? I got your buns right here!' before I turned around and bent down, wiggling my ass." Marvel finishes his joke as the rest of our table laughs, me chuckling along with the rest and actually sort of enjoying myself. The alliance, as predicted, came together seamlessly this morning. We all got to training earlier than we had to be around nine thirty and since we recognized each other from the reapings, it wasn't hard to come into a group before any of the other tributes even bothered coming down. And now here we are at lunch joking and telling stories together while the rest of the tributes sit by their lonesomes, either trying not to listen to us or maybe they are. It really doesn't matter anyway.

I wasn't really sure how I'd feel about the alliance before I got here, but I'm feeling alright now that I've assessed some of their skills and actually talked to them all and know pretty much what they can do. Naturally to install fear right away into the other tributes, the six of us went right to weapons as soon as the head trainer Atala allowed us to, I'd assume to our specialties. Clove made a beeline for knives while I dallied over to archery, knowing I'm actually better at snares but wielding a bow appears a lot more deadly at the moment. Knots don't look very leathal unless you know they are, and really the goal of today is to show off. Show them what I'm made of, not to mess with me, etc. etc. But really it also gave me a chance to look at the others not only in my alliance or potential threats, but everyone else as well.

Thresh went for some of the spears and scythes, and he's naturally pretty go at it. It's not really the most welcome thing, but that's alright. I like a challenge and I'm a competitive guy, so if this kid is going to give me some kind of fun in the arena then I don't really see it being terrible for me. Besides, taking out a guy like that will make me look like a badass. The only thing left besides watching him the whole time is figuring out a solid way to beat him if not more than one way. I'm not really a fan of only one plan for everything because I feel better having a backup plan or two, so I have a lot of work to do with this one.

That girl from five who I've dubbed Red since I don't really know or care what her name is has been at the plant station all morning, and I instantly know that she's not really a threat anymore. She's not bothering with weapons yet and I can't see her being good at them, so maybe that spark in her eyes that I saw was simply her will to live. Clearly, her strategy so far is to make it by just surviving in the arena by the looks of it. I went to the closest weapons station which was making spears from sticks and as I used a knife to sharpen one end, I watched her. She's actually not bad at it, but she does miss a few. I'm not nearly as good at the plant stuff as Katniss but I do know a lot, and that's going to play into my own strategy eventually. The only difference between me and this girl is that I'm not making it obvious I know that stuff and I won't need it for survival. Still, I'll watch her and see what she does like the rest of the nonthreatening tributes but I'm not particularly worried about her.

Marvel, true to form for those who are trained, is pretty good. His specialty seems to be spears, but he also appears to be adequate with a sword and hand-to-hand combat as well so far. He's also a tall and muscled guy like myself as well so I can safely assume that we have similar strength, so I know he's one to look for. Could be dangerous too, but after half a lunch talking to him I'm not so sure that he's a genius. I'm not saying that I'm a genius by any means, but strategy is as much a weapon if not more than any snare, bow, or knife I'll use in the arena. He seems to just be a joker and he watches those he wants to kill, mostly girls. I don't know what his deal with that is, but maybe he thinks he can take more girls out or something. I could tell he seems to have taken an interest in Clove with that look and I'm honestly just fine by that. Though I have at least a dozen ways I could take her out, it would be ideal if someone else would since I wouldn't get looked at badly when I get home.

Glimmer for all her sexiness (which is even more potent close up), is actually decently good with weapons. She didn't volunteer and didn't seem like someone who would because most girls from One are more like Marvel skills-wise, but it's evident she's had training. I wonder if One has a list too and that's how she got here since she was reaped, but I don't ask. I wouldn't even know how to bring something like that up anyway and it really wouldn't make a difference. Besides, my best weapon with her is going to clearly be my own flirtatiousness that could give her's a challenge. She seems to have a genuine liking to me, and though it might make it a little more difficult to kill her eventually it will definitely gain her trust easier, and that is more valuable to me than anything at the moment. Even though my heart belongs to Katniss, this is the Hunger Games; I've got to use every damn thing I've got to win, and if that means flirting my ass off I will.

Havana also seems to have some sort of training, but she's only about the same level as Glimmer. Clove is hands down the most skilled girl in these Games with that assessment, but that's alright. It will make our district look better anyway. Besides, it's not necessary for all of our alliance to be complete badasses anyway; we do need guards for supplies, you know. Slone, the boy from Four seems about the same as Havana, though he seems young for our alliance at only fifteen since the rest of us are sixteen to eighteen like normal. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the alliance though. It will make it easier to take them out when necessary anyway, and that will leave the real competitors to fight for the victory.

We also seem to get along pretty well, and though I can tell it annoys Clove and Marvel to an extent, I seem to be accepted as the leader of the alliance. Which is just fine with me, because it can only make me look better. Besides, it'll be pretty awesome to be a clear going to be Victor all along, because I'm not one for taking orders from anyone. I mean, yeah I know I have to when it comes to Jay or the other trainers, but Jay is pretty good about my boundaries. He's allowed me free reign on my strategy for the arena, hasn't even asked me about it yet though I've been waiting for it for a while now. I wonder if he ever will or if he's just going to let me do what I want.

After more joking around and finishing lunch all of us tributes are ushered back into the training room where I decide to take a break from archery and spears and go to hand-to-hand combat. It's what I've been particularly training on for the past six months or so because as Jay likes to point out, it's not my strength and therefore it's my weakness. I grumbled about it because why would I have needed it in the woods all these years, but I get the point. If I'm jumped or something, I could probably stand my ground for a while but in the end if my opponent knew what they were doing they could probably take me. I'm much better at long range weapons clearly, or even better, weapons I can just leave there and wait for prey to fall into. But I've gotten much better with Jay and particularly Norman's help with this area, and while it ended in my fair share of bruises and occasionally minor concussions, I've definitely improved. I take the trainer here down in less than five minutes and he seems suitably impressed, so with a confident smile I move on to something else.

When I go to the knife station where Clove is yet again at, I pick up some knives and throw them at targets right next to where she's standing. I'm obviously not nearly as good as she is, since she really is a pro at this particular thing, but I do hit the target every time, mostly near the bull's eye. She slows down her throwing pace and without looking at me, speaks in a low voice.

"So what do you think of the alliance?" she questions me, throwing yet another bull's eye at a high target on the wall in the left corner. Genuine surprise crosses my mind that she's actually asking me since I assumed that we were just not going to talk about strategy, but I guess we _are_ district partners. Maybe that does count for something in the end.

"Marvel seems to be skilled, but the rest are decent." I give her my honest assessment, and from the corner of my eye I can see her nod in agreement.

"Glimmer's alright with a bow." She informs me, and I almost roll my eyes. Maybe to someone who doesn't know how to do archery in particular she seems good, but not to me. In fact, Glimmer's maybe just above an amateur in that department, and it certainly looked bad to me. Or maybe I'm just being biased because I'm normally with a girl who can outshoot me or really, anyone except her dad any day, and I'm pretty good.

"Eh, I'm better. I'll have a bow if it's in there." I shrug nonchalantly before throwing another knife, smiling to myself and doing a silent cheer in my head when I hit the bull's eye.

"True. Maybe there will be two." Clove predicts before turning around, now throwing her knives by turning and whipping them over her shoulder. Damn that girl is good with those things. I'm glad that I won't be at the wrong end of them during the bloodbath, that's for sure.

"Maybe." I agree, though I doubt it. A bow isn't always in the arena, and besides that, the Gamemakers would probably find it much more entertaining to only have one so Glimmer and I would have to fight over it.

"Or if there's only one, I'm sure you could charm your possession of it with her." She suggests and turns around, giving me a knowing, amused smirk and I roll my eyes. Of course she's noticed Glimmer's flirting; it'd be hard not to.

"You've noticed." I comment, and now it's her turn to roll her eyes.

"Havana too. I swear if they knew you better they wouldn't." she mutters and I stop throwing knives, crossing my arms and quirking my eyebrow.

"What makes you say that?" I question, genuinely curious. Charming girls comes pretty easily to me, but her comment makes me wonder if that annoys her or if she secretly likes me too. Eh…probably annoyance. After all, that strategy would only take sponsors away from her if all the attention for our district is on me.

"Because it will only kill them in the end, won't it?" she whispers knowingly, and I almost curse under my breath. Well shit, so much for that strategy being a secret. But does it really matter so much if Clove knows I'll use their flirting with me to get their trust just to use it to take them out?

"Do you plan on telling them then?" I ask her, truly looking for her answer. It's not as if that strategy was my only one, but it's certainly the easiest.

She taps her chin with the not dangerous edge of her knife for a moment before answering. "Nah. Two less tributes for their stupidity, right?"

I'm kind of surprised by her answer, but she does have a point. It's not like I would tell Marvel or Slone if our positions were reversed, because they would be far less likely to see it coming. And two less tributes is two less tributes when the time comes.

"Right." I nod, and with a smile from her she gestures to the targets and we simultaneously throw three knives each together, all of them going on the targets, four in the bull's eyes (one from me, three from her. I turn around to go to another station after that and find not a few tributes blatantly observing us, and all of them have a look of fear in their eyes.

That's right tributes, look at the real competitors. Fear before the arena is truly the best weapon, better than any sword. And you know why? Because they lose the will to try and fight. That fear will make them another bloodbath, and the numbers will go higher because of it.

Because fear cuts far deeper than any weapon.


	8. Tricks

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who will trick will always find another who will suffer to be tricked.-Niccolo Machiavelli_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Gale's POV

"You've made quite an impression already, I'll give you that." Jay comments to me when I'm in my room late at night after the first day of training. I have my notebook that I scribbled away in for a good few hours after training the first day on my lap, and the lamp is on but I was dead to the world until now. At his comment I wake from my slumber and it takes me a second to realize where I am, but once I do I close the notebook and push it aside, finding Jay at the end of the bed watching me amused.

"Good." I answer once I've processed what he's told me, yawning and looking at the time on the clock on the end table next to my bed. It's near three o'clock in the morning. What the hell is Jay doing here at this time? Wait, why I am I even bothering trying to ask myself that question? This is Jay after all. Of course he would, he doesn't give a shit. "I'm assuming it's gotten me sponsors already then?"

"A few." He reveals with a nod before glancing to my notebook. I honestly think he's going to ask me to hand it over even though it's not done yet, but he doesn't just looks back at me and sits on the edge of my bed. I adjust and sit up more so he can sit more comfortably, and wait for him to say something more. Because there's no fucking way he's waking me up in the middle of the night when I have training this morning if it isn't something more important than that. I know him better than to assume otherwise after all.

"You sure about this strategy? Using your looks for attention?" he asks me after a moment, seeming conflicted. It surprises me, and my eyebrows rise at him asking.

"It worked for Finnick, why not me?" I rationalize. I'm just as good looking if not more than Finnick Odair, and he used his looks for his strategy at a much younger age. And Finnick wanted for nothing in his arena, and I'd really hope for the same. What's the point of not using it, really?

"There are consequences you know." He warns me, but I shrug.

"Whatever they are it's worth it. It's the easiest way to go and I've already begun, right? Why bother changing that now?" I ask him, because I do know it's a good way to go. Glimmer's doing the same thing, but I have no confidence Glimmer can win. I, however, can and will. Besides, even she's taken with me so that's got to be a sign that this can work, right?

He stares at me hard, shaking his head and grumbling something inaudible under his breath but eventually just shrugs and looks around. His eyes come down to the notebook in my lap before coming back to me, all traces of whatever he was 'warning' me about gone.

"Taking notes I see." He comments and nods toward it, but doesn't reach for it.

"Yep. I figured it would be good to get it all out on paper at least for now." I reply as I move it and get up, suddenly not so very tired and actually kind of hungry. Maybe something to eat or drink will help me go back to sleep. But before I go I toss the thing to Jay, figuring that he'll want to look at it. But to my surprise, he doesn't even glance at the thing and tosses it back to me. Catching it, I quirk an eyebrow at him. He really doesn't want to look?

"They're yours. I don't need to know them." He answers my confusion, but not really clearing any of it.

"But you're my mentor; don't you want to know what I've figured out, strategies and stuff?" I ask, gripping the thing.

"Nah. That's your game. Mine is to get you sponsors and you've already chosen that strategy." He shrugs and gets up, slinking towards the door. I watch him go so intently and astounded that I'm still looking at him when he opens the door but doesn't go through, turning to me from the doorframe. "Besides, I kind of like being surprised. It will be fun for me to see what you do."

With that he finally leaves and closes the door behind him, and I find myself shaking my head and almost chuckling to myself. I really don't know why after all this time I still try to understand him. You'd think I would have accepted by now that I never will.

Deciding against going out of my room, I go over to the menu that has a million different options on it for me to choose from and after browsing for a minute, decide on mint tea. It's always helped me sleep at night before, but that's not really why I order it to be honest. Katniss and I would sometimes in the summer camp out in the woods and pretend that we'd run away from the district when we were younger. She'd pretend that she was away from her judging and not understanding mother and I would pretend that I didn't have the pressure from my dad about being chosen to volunteer in the Hunger Games, because back then I was most terrified that I never would and I didn't know how dad would react to my failure. And we would always set up with a fire and our sleeping bags close, gathering mint leaves and boiling them with water for tea while we ate whatever we shot that night, laughing and talking under the trees and moonlight.

I do miss those days, as we haven't done them since I started training more rigorously for the arena about a year ago, more than I care to admit sometimes. Granted it could be because I've felt like I hunt less and less, but it has more to do with Katniss. I just…miss her. I don't find that really out of line though all considering. And while this tea brings those happy memories back with it, it also seems to be nagging at something about her. It takes me a while, but I finally figure it out after I've finished the tea and turned off the lights, trying to go back to sleep. I don't think I've ever gone more than a day without seeing her and now it's been multiple. I knew it would happen going in, I just didn't really think about it. Nor did I think it would affect me as much as it does. But there's no going back for me, and the only possible way to see her again is winning so that has to happen. So with that in mind, I fall asleep finally and dream of my Victory and coming home.

When I wake up the sun is shining in my face from the windows, and rubbing my eyes, I glance at the clock by my bed and find that it's only around eight o'clock. Perfect, that means that Marcellus doesn't need to wake me up again like he did yesterday. It's not that the guy's mean or anything, he just seems to annoy me somehow. Maybe it's because he's dressed too brightly for me to take him seriously and the fact that he always sounds like he has the IQ of the bright lemon his hair reminds me of. Regardless though, he's still our escort and therefore I need him to like me, so I don't indicate that he vexes me like I normally would. Besides, I know that I only have to deal with him for a few more days at the moment anyway so I can deal.

Getting dressed in the clothes for training that Plumagi left me on the chair in my room at some point while I was sleeping, I go out for breakfast and find that I'm the first one up. Happy with that, I get a heaping plate of food and sit down, eating my large breakfast in silence. About halfway through eating Clove followed by Fangula come in, but luckily they don't talk to me. After eating I leave the table as quickly as possible and go over to the living room to get away from them, specifically Fangula, and turn on the television. Flipping through the channels, I find one that's a sort of betting talk on some kind of talk show and leave it on, turning up the volume. After watching for a few minutes it's not hard to see that our district is the favorite to win right now, and there haven't even been scores out yet. Some are betting on Marvel which I can see why, and Thresh for quite a few too. They've basically put it down to the top four already and I'm pleased to see that I'm on top of most of their lists for the Victory thus far. I can only hope to show them with my score that's exactly what I plan on doing.

Marcellus calls my name in his Capitol accent after a while, seeming to sing it which I cringe at but luckily he can't see my face. I get up and join Clove at the elevator, and once I'm on I finally realize that I hadn't seen Jay this morning. It's strange because he should have, but I guess he pretty much answered that question last night. He wants to be surprised for some reason, maybe for his own entertainment and seeing if his guesses on my strategies are correct or something, so maybe he's just decided that I don't need help at the moment. I'm on my own it seems, but the thought isn't a horrible one. In fact, I sort of like it. He's never actually allowed me to take the reins completely by myself before and it's a sort of freeing feeling. One I plan on using for the rest of training, that's for sure.

The day starts off kind of like yesterday, us real competitors going straight for the big powerful weapons and the rest of the tributes kind of scrambling around. I can tell that while most of them yesterday were more nervous and scared than anything, today they have a sort of desperateness to them. It's like reality finally hit them in the face that they have no fucking clue how to survive an arena and now they're trying to learn every little thing in the limited time they have. It's almost amusing actually, and for most of the day I go to stations that I can use weapons like my bow where I don't really have to think and watch, planting myself in places where I can observe easily.

Red seems to be doing the exact same thing as yesterday, and she appears to be getting better at it. From what I can tell from the plants she tries to identify they're similar to the ones in the woods back home, so I really hope that's an indication that there will be plenty of woods in the arena. It's not that I so much need it to be since I'll have the supplies from the Cornucopia like the alliance does every year, but it will certainly be an advantage in hunting tributes; for me, anyway. I'm a decent tracker in the woods, and since I doubt many of these tributes know how to cover their tracks well and I would know what was out of place in the woods, I'm going to look like a badass when they lead me to them in the hunts for tributes.

Most of the other tributes like her are at the survival stations, most trying and failing to master most of them it seems. The tiny girl from District 11 seems to be flaunting from the plant station and the slingshot one, and she's pretty good at both of them. Looking closer at her she reminds me a lot of Prim aside from the obvious differences. It's just they have the same kind of structure or something, the same look to them; as if they couldn't harm a fly. Oh great, now I'm going to think of killing Prim when we come across her in the arena. Hopefully I won't even get that chance and she'll die in the bloodbath like any twelve year old should. Not that I couldn't kill her, but I'd feel kind of bad about it. Marvel seems to have a vendetta against all girls for some reason though, so maybe if we happen to find her I'll let him have that kill. One less kill isn't going to hurt my chances of winning, after all.

The boy from seven seems to be trying and failing to learn how to make a fire, which is actually sort of amusing to watch. He just gets so frustrated by it and keeps throwing the flint down every time he gets it wrong while the instructor tries to pacify him and show him again. His temper will certainly get him in trouble at some point, but that's not what's really funny. It's the fact that District 7 is the lumber district; surely with all that wood around he'd know how to build a fucking fire, right? Apparently not. I know that District 2 is well off compared to other districts and the only reason I know how to build a fire is from the Academy because our house always has electricity, but I was under the impression that the lesser districts needed fires most of the time because they didn't have electricity as often. I had assumed Seven was one of those, and it probably is. So does that mean that he's more well of than most of the district or that someone else makes their fires? I don't know and I really don't know why I care to be honest. Just another thing to put in my notebook I guess.

The District 12 boy eventually comes over with his frail shrimp of a district partner following him like a lost puppy and sits down next to the boy, talking to him for a few minutes and even gets the boy laughing as he shows him how to make a fire. Hmm, that's interesting. Apparently this kid is good with people, which means he'll probably make an alliance of his own of some kind. Again not that it will matter too much, but it will make it more interesting if they make it past the bloodbath. More interesting for us, anyway, and by proxy the rest of Panem.

Moving on from them, I find the District 3 boy I think at some electronic station. I have no fucking clue what that's doing there in the training room, but I guess they can get gifts from sponsors. Really what he's doing though as I look closer is putting something back together, a walkie talkie of sorts for one of the trainers. The trainer stands over him and watches with interest as the boy takes it apart and fiddles with it before putting it back together again. Suddenly I realize that it's not actually a station and the boy is just being kind I guess in putting the thing back together. How the hell is he doing that? Oh right, District 3; factories and electronics. They don't normally make it too far in the arenas because they're known more for their brains than their brawn, but the ones that do win always do so with some kind of smart move. Like that Beetee guy I remember watching who won about thirty odd years ago, who electrocuted tributes. Not that this kid is electrocuting anything, but he clearly knows what he's doing with putting stuff together. Maybe I can use him and take him out when he's no longer necessary…

I'm about to take a closer look when the kid looks up and finds me watching him, and quickly look away and focus back on the targets for my bow. Not that it matters that he found me watching because I'm me and I could probably kill the kid with my bare hands, but don't want to scare the kid if I can figure out a way that I could use him. Instead of spying for a while I decide on more challenging targets for my arrows since I'm bored with the round targets, instead going for dummies and aiming for hearts, necks, and heads. Most I get like normal, and then I decide that while I've got nothing better to do I'll try to be like Katniss and get them in the eye. I miss the eye every time, but a few of them I get close.

"Impressive." A sultry, appreciative voice comes from behind me. Turning around, I find Glimmer looking at me with an inviting smirk and a provocative stance. My breath hitches at it, because I didn't think it was possible to look sexy with a bow but being her, she accomplishes that. Her training outfit is clearly for training, but it's far more low cut and slim fitting than it needs to be, a hint of her full breasts showing from the V-neck tank top that hugs her curves. Her slim toned legs are easily shown through her tight black pants, but that's not why she looks sexy. It's her hand on one hip with her chest pressed out and a bow in the other hand casually leaning on it as it supports her from the floor, her gaze having me question whether she's here to practice with a bow or flirt. And with the way she saunters over to me, I'd have to say flirt.

"Well I try." I give her my own provocative smirk accompanied by a wink, going head on with my flirt to trust plan.

"Would you help me?" she questions me with her big emerald eyes, begging for attention. I know she needs the help for sure because to be honest she's really not that good with the thing, but that doesn't mean I want to help her. If there's a bow in that arena it's mine, and I don't want her getting any better at it. But then I think…what if it's just an act that she's just better than amateur? What if she's just fucking with us all and she's actually a pro at it? Well, there aren't many ways to find out, but I do know one. Plus it's going to be great for this particular strategy too.

"Of course." I smile, gesturing for her to come over as I set my own bow and quiver down. She comes over and gets her bow ready, and I feel her tense at first as I surprise her and come right behind her, my chest to her back. We're touching just slightly and it's enough to make even my head go eighty different directions with this and all of them I would prefer not to be done in public, but I force myself to focus. Think of Katniss, Gale. How pissed she would be at you for even thinking those things with this girl.

That sobers me up pretty quickly and allows me to focus on what my real motive is even though I don't actually think Katniss would care other than being embarrassed, but it works into my fantasies of what I want her to think so that's good enough for me. I purposefully take my time and put my arm on Glimmer's shoulder that she has the nocked arrow in, gently pressing it down. That's fine, you can fake that. I allow my hand to graze down her bare arm and feel the muscles there, looking for them being strong and hard where mine are from years of using a bow. I find that they are there, but not really prominent as they should be. Surely not as strong as Katniss's, and that makes me smile. Good, that means that she's probably not faking her abilities. I place my hand on Glimmer's that's holding the bow and let my fingers come over her's before adjusting her other hand holding the sting and moving it slightly, putting it in a better position. Satisfied that this is as good as she's going to get stance-wise since her feet seem to be correct enough, I lean down and whisper seductively in her ear.

"Breath in." I order her as my breath tickles her ear, her wisps of blonde hair brushing against my nose and cheek. She does what I ask and I do it with her before I whisper again, this time, let go.

She does and it goes straight for the heart of the dummy, and I finally break the tension from our bodies with a satisfied smile. If that isn't flirting to trust I don't know what is. But she decides that she doesn't want space and drops the bow, excitedly putting her arms around my neck and hugging me.

"I had no idea you were such a good teacher." She exclaims with a smile.

"Any time." I say gracefully, pretending I'm really a good teacher. I don't actually think I am because really I just adjusted her a little, but she doesn't have to know that.

"Thank you." She whispers seductively and to my utter surprise, moves her arms from around my neck to my face and pulls it down, giving me a smoldering kiss on the lips. She lets go and finds me dumbstruck because I honestly didn't see that coming. With a wink and a little sexy giggle she picks up her bow and leaves, strutting off to a different station with a little satisfied smirk gracing her features.

What the hell? Is she playing the same game I am? I think she is, though I have no indication she's actually really good with a bow. But still, it doesn't mean that she's using the flirt to trust strategy. Really, she's been using it the whole time. First with sponsors, and now apparently with me.

Good thing I don't actually trust her.

Shaking my head and pretending I meant for that to happen all along, I put my own bow down and go to another station, this time making snares again. I need to take a break from whatever that just was and go back to observing. The work is mindless for me and I really don't pay attention, but I do have enough sense to feel someone behind me. I can only hope it's not Glimmer again, or worse, Clove who would endlessly make fun of me for it if she happened to see whether she agrees with my own plan or not. Clove's just that kind of person.

"What's up?" I decide to go with, not bothering to turn around to see who is gracing me with their undesired presence. When there's no immediate response I wait for one, and a smallish boy with brown hair sits down next to me and takes a stick and a knife, going about his business. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I find that it's the District 3 boy that I was watching earlier. But he doesn't speak to me, so I just go about my business of watching people. It's not until I hear a murmur next to me right before the trainers call for lunch that I look to him. I find him staring at the stick in his hand nervously, but he seems to know I'm watching him and speaks again, barely louder and more intelligible this time.

"I know how to guard the supplies at the Cornucopia." He informs me, and I do my best to not show surprise or interest in case anyone happens to be watching.

"How's that?" I question, getting up and busying myself with slowly putting away the knife and stick as he tells me while he does the same.

"You were watching me earlier." He exclaims in a nervous voice and I smirk a little, amused almost.

"So?" I answer. It's not like it's illegal to watch other tributes. You just can't fight with them before the arena, that's all.

"So I know how to reactivate the explosives around the plates. It can protect the supplies." He informs me, and at that I do find myself impressed. That would certainly be a relief knowing those supplies were well guarded. But there's always a catch.

"For what? Being part of the alliance?" I ask, because I already know where this is going.

He nods almost unperceptively before speaking again. "Yes. I can guard the supplies while you go out."

Hmm. He can, but it seems too good to be true. And I've found that in life there's always a bigger catch to the game. There is always a trick or loop hole waiting to be taken advantage of. I don't trust the kid. Of course these explosives can guard the supplies from other tributes by being reactivated if he is telling the truth that he can do that, and on that I actually believe him. But they can guard it as well as they can destroy the supplies too. And if we left this kid with the supplies, he could easily get what he needed, destroy the rest, and we'd be left without any. It's a decent plan for this kid actually; or it would be if I hadn't most likely figured it out. But thinking on it…well, it would take care of one thing and I wouldn't take the blame. The more I think on it, it's perfect.

"You got it kid. Hide near the Cornucopia until the bloodbath's over and I'll make sure you're safe to do it." I tell him. He grins finally and nods before going off towards the lunchroom, leaving me one of the last in here. And I have to smile, not caring anymore. All the pieces are falling into place and I don't even have to do much of anything. It's perfect. Simply perfect.


	9. Friends

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_Over and over again I'll try to tell myself that we could never be more than friends_

_-Roberta Flack_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Katniss's POV

Back in the theater again at the training center on Saturday evening, I try not to seem so nervous as I'm pacing in the bathroom. I came early to watch the training scores just like most of the other kids, but after sitting with Rumi in mostly silence for at least ten minutes I found myself twitching in anticipation, unable to keep my body or mind still or focused on one thing. So I came here and locked myself in one of the stalls before I was sure no one else was in there, and started pacing.

Waiting is really the hardest thing to do, especially when it's something like this. I'm not used to not knowing what Gale's doing or thinking, and now I'm cursing myself for not forcing him to tell me what he had planned for his private session. I know how big of an impact scores can have, especially on sponsors. After all, looks will only get you so far; if you want the big money, you have to have a score that goes with it. And while I could guess he's doing just fine in the former in the Capitol (and I'm really trying hard not to let that bug me because it shouldn't as much as it does), I _need_ to know this score for him. It's almost pathetic how invested in these Games I am even when they aren't even mine, but I guess they might as well be. I was so blind to how much I rely on Gale, how much he's a part of my life until he left. It's only been five days since I last saw him, but it feels like five months.

Stopping myself from pacing and gripping the counter where the sinks are, I force myself to look in the mirror and calm down. Counting to ten backwards, I tell myself to get a grip and it helps, but what really helps is looking straight into the reflection of my own eyes. Our appearances are alike as it is with olive skin, straight black hair and grey eyes, but something about just staring straight into my own eyes and concentrating on them helps more than anything. If I can just let myself pretend that they're his even though his real ones are slightly darker than mine, I can almost make myself believe that he's here, giving me a smile and telling me not to worry, that's he's got it all figured out.

The door opening and a girl rushing into a stall snaps me out of my concentration, and with that I force myself to make my legs walk calmly out of the bathroom and back to my seat where the Capitol symbol is already on the screen, kids of all ages in the theater anxiously waiting with notebooks and pens in hand, whispering to their neighbors and placing bets. Rumi doesn't say anything about my much longer than necessary absence, and for that I'm grateful. But I guess that's why we work; we know just enough about each other but not too much, and respect each other's privacy and feelings by not even bothering to ask or be nosy. But when I find myself getting tense again at the wait and she quietly takes my hand and squeezes it gently, I don't feel angry or annoyed by it. In fact, I think it's just what I need even though it's not normal. She's no Gale by any means, but I'm glad that there's at least someone who cares enough to do something that little to let me know that I have a friend.

But as soon as Caeser and Claudius come on the screen, I only just barely notice that she lets it go because my focus is now all encompassing on the screen. I'm not really listening to what they're saying but to be honest it really doesn't matter much. Scores are simply each tribute's face and a number revealed that is their score, and their talking is usually just praise or whatever. In fact, I won't even bother really listening unless the scores are impressive. It's not like anyone under an eight is going to be a threat to Gale anyway.

Finally District 1 comes up, and it's Marvel first, as boys go first in their private sessions before the girls of that District. He comes up with a nine, which is a normal score for someone that has training. Definitely a contender like I thought, and Caeser and Claudius are saying as much with their praise. Glimmer comes next and I have to roll my eyes when Claudius says something about her looks, but I don't say anything about it. Claudius always did seem to favor the more attractive tributes. It doesn't necessarily mean that they win by any means but they certainly get more attention, and during the actual Games he usually seems to prefer to talk about them. Caeser as ever, is neutral with everyone and tries to bring out the best in every tribute, not just the good lookers.

I'm so annoyed by Glimmer's praise of her blonde bombshellness that annoys me far more than it should that I almost miss her score. She comes up with an eight, once again normal range for someone with training which she must have but on the lesser end of it. It makes me feel a little better for no reason whatsoever, but I still put down her eight by her name in my notebook and refrain myself from putting something like Claudius likes her because he's greedy for a hot Victor.

Finally (though I know I really didn't have to wait long), Gale is up. Once again Claudius praises the looks department, but this time it doesn't really phase me though that really doesn't make any sense in a way. I already knew that Gale was good-looking, I just ignored it mostly. Well, up to this point anyway. It certainly doesn't help that girls are squealing over him even here, but Claudius liking it actually helps him so I'd say they even out at this point when it comes to my annoyance battling my logic. They seem to talk and talk forever before finally the score comes up.

A ten. He got a ten. It's impressive for sure, and a score I'm not really surprised at. Excitement seems to be bubbling all around me as the Academy students buzz about it as they write it down, some shushing each other to hear what the hosts are saying about him. But really all I can do is smirk a little, because I can practically see Gale's face right now. Of course he's thrilled with a ten, but what he really would have loved would have been an eleven. No one gets a twelve though it's the highest on the scale, so I know that he was going for one of those prized elevens. They don't get seen very often; in fact, there have only been six in the history of the Hunger Games, and only one in my lifetime. Elevens are a blessing and a curse in a way because they make you a big threat and the others might try to take you out early (like the only eleven I saw when I was eight years old), but I already know that Gale would have seen it as a blessing and he's inwardly mad that he couldn't get that extra bump. It makes me smile a little, and I wonder idly if he's thinking about my reaction to his score to, and smiling to himself as he realizes what I'm thinking. It's stupid really because why would he care to think about me with this great score, but I guess I prefer to pretend he is.

The next thing I know Clove is on the screen, and she comes up with a ten as well. It's impressive and pride for our district this year to have not one but two tens for scores, more than likely the two top scorers of the night to boot. It only raises the chances that those sponsors will send all their money to our district, and you can feel it in the room before the interviews, the rest of the scores, or even the arena begins; people are absolutely confident in a Victor this year hailing from here. Call it biased, but we have good reason at least.

I don't pay much attention to District 3 because they never score high and they don't prove me wrong this year, and just tap my pen against my notebook waiting for District 4's scores. The boy who is fifteen I think and easily the youngest of the alliance comes up with an eight, which is honestly more impressive than Glimmer's eight if you ask me. It's not that I don't think Glimmer earned it, it's that this guy Slone is younger; he's had less training and he's small for someone with training. The girl Havana gets a nine and I put it down and listen to what the hosts have to say, but it's really not much more than banal average praise. She got a good score but she's not particularly a hottie or anything, not much special about her to say. So they move on, and once again I barely pay attention like the rest of the room.

Well, until Thresh comes onto the screen, even his picture behind Caeser the very image of menacing and brooding though he seems to be a quiet one. His ten is not surprising, but it makes me cringe a little. It's one thing to assume that a kid from District 11 of all places, a lower poor district is a potential threat; it's quite another to have it blatantly confirmed and in such an extraordinary manner. A ten for an outer district might as well be a twelve for all I care. If I can bear to pull my eyes off Gale for a second when that gong rings to begin the Games, I might have to watch him and where he goes if he doesn't fight. Gale wouldn't be stupid enough to let a kid like that who hates the alliance for our continued strength in the Hunger Games like most districts seem to (they call us Careers; it's sort of aptly named, but we don't call ourselves that because they make it sound so disgusting that we train to prepare), especially the outer districts. He'd turn on the alliance as soon as he could, and you could bet he'd take quite a few out before he did.

Thresh fades off the screen and that tiny girl who has to be twelve comes up, and it's an understatement to say I'm surprised when she comes up with a seven. A seven is not really a score I usually pay too much attention to, but normally a seven comes from someone that at least fifteen or sixteen, not this girl that has to be Prim's stature and height. As much as I love my little sister more than anything, it would be honest to say that she probably wouldn't get more than a four if that for a training score at her age of twelve as well. I still don't think this girl could win aside from Thresh maybe in a very long shot protecting her until the end and then killing himself though. But whatever she did had to have been remarkable for that, and I find myself almost hoping that she makes it past the bloodbath if only to see what it is out of sheer curiosity.

It moves onto Twelve and I'm still reeling about District 11's scores that I would have missed the District 12 boy's had it not been for the commotion around me. I glance up to find myself staring at a picture of a stocky blonde boy with a big eight by his name. What the hell? This is the poorest of the poor districts, and it comes up with an alliance worthy score? Really? What the heck have these poor districts been doing this past year to get tributes with good scores in the arena this year?

I'm so busy brewing over someone who I didn't even think was a competitor and now I have to pay attention to them that I almost miss the girl's score, which is a four. Good, at least that's a normal score. I don't know what the boy's name is but I glance over to Rumi's notebook and see Peeta on it for District 12, and scribble that and an eight onto my own paper. Now I'm going to be occupied tonight for probably hours scouring over this kid on the television, trying to find out anything more about him so I can try to see what the heck he did to get an eight.

Oh well. At least it will take my mind off Gale for a while. Oh who am I kidding, of course it won't. The only reason aside from surprise that I'll be up half the night tonight doing research is because of Gale. I know it's the only reason I'm irrationally angrier than I should be even if I wouldn't admit it to anyone else. No one else has to know, right?

Everyone gets up to leave and my feet automatically do too. But I don't want to go home, and I'm suddenly inspired to look around the Academy for answers. I know that there are detailed accounts or whatever somewhere in here of all the tributes and that would be a much quicker way to get my answers. I might get into trouble, but I might not. No one would actually think to check on me there anyway.

So with that in mind, I walk out of the building with Rumi to the end of the sidewalk and wave goodbye as we go our separate ways, her to home in the Westside of town and me presumably to my own in the South. But I only go maybe a block before I lose the other kids going that way and slink back as if I forgot something. Once in the building, I take a right instead of a left to the auditorium and go where they keep the records of all the Hunger Games including I hope this one, in the library where all the videos and books are kept per arena.

It doesn't take me too long to find the most recent ones, and I'm happy to say that miraculously the 74th Hunger Games is here in notebook form, I'm assuming the record keeper's own copy. Taking it from its place, I sit right there on the floor and begin my search.

It's amazingly detailed, so detailed that of the facts I'm seeing on the second page after all the names of every tribute on the first of Glimmer that whoever's notebook this is, they have far more information than the television gives them. It states Glimmer's birthday, family members ages and names, her school, father's job, street address, weapons of choice, a picture, friends, everything. It's like an entire detailed profile on each of the tributes I'm assuming. Somehow I don't think that I was supposed to see all of this, but I can't see how it will matter. Whoever it was they left it here, so it's their fault.

Out of sheer curiosity I skip Marvel and Clove's and flip straight to Gale's, just to see what they have on him. Once again it's surprisingly detailed; it even lists that he hunts in the woods with me and our fathers, though it's quite small which makes me believe that whoever wrote it didn't necessarily want that information in the wrong hands. It even lists me under friends, though it has a question mark by my name. What's with the question mark? Of course we're friends. That should not be news to anyone, especially someone who has this much information.

Shaking my head, I quickly flit to that tiny girl's from District 11, and find that she is in fact twelve years old like I thought she was. Her name's Rue and she's the oldest of six girls, and works in the orchards. Hmm, well that doesn't really explain anything as to why she got a seven for her score. Then again, I really don't know much about apple picking or whatever orchard it is, so maybe I'll look that up at school on Monday.

Deciding to take the notebook with me to look into further, I decide to momentarily skip Thresh and go straight to that Peeta kid at the end of the profiles, standing up and walking out as I go. I've been in here too long and I don't want someone to try to take this gold mine from me, so it's best just to pretend it's what I left in the auditorium and go home with it. I can always come back here early and return it tomorrow before anyone notices.

As I walk, I find out that this Peeta kid is the son of the town baker, which doesn't actually explain anything about his score. What the hell did he do, wow them with a cake? It's laughable how incredibly stupid it would be for that to get a score like that. Must have been some cake. But then I go through his activities and find out that he's a wrestler. Oh. Well that could certainly help. I don't know too much about wrestling but I do know that it would certainly be like hand to hand combat, something I'm not actually that terrific at. And Gale isn't either, though it's what he's been specifically been working on for a while now.

I'm so enthralled with obtaining all the information I can on him that I don't even see it when I run into a wall of something…or more accurately, someone.

"Sorry! I…oh." I start to apologize, but stop when I find Cato was the wall I ran into. What the heck is he doing here? The same thing as me? Wait, that doesn't make much sense. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." He quirks an eyebrow at me, almost amused now.

"I left my notebook in the auditorium." I lie, my excuse for being in here anyway. But he just smiles and shakes his head at me, chuckling.

"Did you now? Then why were you coming from the library?" he crosses his arms over his chest, having way too much fun with this. Well crap, guess I'm caught.

"Research." I admit, holding up the notebook and waiting for the joke that I'm certain is coming. This is Cato, after all. And not surprisingly, he laughs at me.

"Well if you wanted that, you could have just asked." He grins, confusing me.

"What?"

"My notes." He nods down to the notebook in my hand, and I look up to him shocked and suspicious. "I leave it in the library with the old profile books because I know no one looks there during the current Hunger Games. Well, at least I thought no one would."

"Where did you even get this stuff?" I ask him, burning with a desire to know. Of all people to get this stuff, I wouldn't have thought it would be Cato. Where would he even have access to all of this? This is not just basic information; it's personal stuff and not just on our own tributes. Not to mention that no one actually has much information on the other districts, let alone specific people in them.

"Not telling." He smirks, knowing that it's annoying me not to know. I huff in frustration but, at least he could answer this.

"Fine. Why is there a question mark by my name?" I ask, now that I have the author of this I can actually ask. I still don't get it.

"Where?" he asks, seeming to not know. It only makes me irritated that he's being stupid.

"Don't play dumb, Cato. My name under Gale's friends. Why does it have a question mark by it?" I shake my head, refusing to let him go or give back his notebook until he answers me. He sighs, but rolls his eyes.

"Now who's being dumb." He mutters, but finally seems to be going to answer me. "It's by your name because…well, honestly I didn't know if 'friend' was the correct term."

"…what?" I ask, taken aback by his admittance.

"Oh you know, just didn't know if you were just friends or friends with benefits or together or what." he admits, seeming to want his own answers. But I'm just astonished by his blatant questioning of our relationship.

"Oh my god, we're just friends! We haven't done anything!" I almost shriek at him, but it comes out more of a vexed, angry voice. Well, we haven't done anything, it's true enough. But it only brings back that flash of memory to the last I saw Gale, when he asked me to kiss him. And I said that I would when he came back a Victor. "Besides, it's none of your business."

"Sorry." He states, his hands in the air in surrender. "God, I didn't think you'd get so offended. It's not like I'm the only one who questions it." He informs me, which takes me by surprise. What is that supposed to mean? People question if Gale and I are just friends? Who? When? "And all aside from that, not much of what's in here is my business in the first place so I don't see how it matters."

Damn right not much of this is his business at all. But I'm glad he at least admits it. It makes me look at him at least a little less like a creep, because that's really what this is. Though I'm the one with plans to know all of it too so I guess that makes me almost as bad as him. "Where'd you even find this?" I ask again, shaking my head in disbelief. "I don't know of anywhere you could get all this."

He sighs, but gestures for his notebook back and I reluctantly give it to him. I have enough to go on anyway and immediately resume my plans to watch television all night again. What really bugs me though is that I skipped Marvel and Thresh particularly. I could have used some stuff on them. "Come on, I'll show you."

I hesistate, but he sighs again and gestures for me to follow him. Curiosity overcomes me and I give into it, following him out of the Academy into the moonlit sky in silence. It's not until I realize where we're going that I speak up.

"Your house? What do you have there?" I ask quizzically. Cato lives in Victor's Village with his parents, sister, and grandfather because his grandfather won the 19th Hunger Games and likes his family around him like most other Victor's in the rather full Victor's Village. In fact, they only made a dozen Victor's Village houses (more like mansions) and we have had twelve Victors thus far that they built a few more about three years ago before our second oldest Victor died. Most of the Village is occupied but it's seemingly quiet right now, as a quaint little rich neighborhood. Or at least that's what it appears to be; you'd never know just by the looks of it that its occupants got the highest honor in Panem by killing or their families.

"I can't tell you; I have to show you." He murmurs, giving me a look that says shut up. Oh, so he doesn't want anyone to know, now does he? I don't blame him to be honest. Even though the residents of Victor's Village have it easy and can get away with a lot, I really doubt the peacekeepers would let all the contents of that notebook fly. He'd been in deep shit for just having it.

"Okay." I nod, understanding. Quietly I follow him into his house and up the stairs, catching sight of his fifteen year old little sister Mira on the couch watching something about the current Hunger Games like I had planned to. But she doesn't even bother acknowledging someone is home and Cato doesn't seem to care to either, so curiously I follow him blindly wherever he's leading me.

He stops at a door that's unknown to me what's in there, and knocks three times quietly. When he gets no response, he opens the door and gestures for me to come in, closing the door behind him just as silently. I find myself in an office, far more grand of one than my dad's makeshift on in our basement. A cedar desk with a black sleek leather chair behind it and a computer on the desk dominates the wall across from the door. In the corner of the room is a plush suede loveseat and a black leather armchair with a cedar coffee table to match the desk, and a bookshelf with books I don't recognize any the names of that seem ancient are on the wall to my left. But Cato doesn't seem to be admiring any of it, and quickly goes around to the other side of the desk and fumbles around on the computer. It makes a quiet beeping noise but he doesn't seem alarmed by it and opens one of the drawers before pulling some files out of it and laying it on the desk.

Typing something on the keyboard with ease (how did he learn how to do that? Well, I guess he's been around a computer his whole life unlike most people), he nods to himself before acknowledging me again.

"Come look." He orders quietly, and something tells me immediately that he's not supposed to be in here. Well duh, he's not even supposed to have all this information he has in the first place. Besides, what's he so scared of? His grandfather is in the Capitol like all the Victors are every Hunger Games, it's not like he's going to come barging in here asking questions. Though I don't know where his parents are and Mira would certainly be a tattletale too, so I get it.

I go around the desk with my silent tread that I picked up from hunting all these years and find myself looking at the computer screen with about ten tiny screens splitting it, all different rooms. I don't even know what I'm looking at though I'm trying hard to seem like I am. But it doesn't fool him.

"SIM security cameras." He informs me, and astonished, I look again. Now that he mentions it I don't know why I didn't guess before. SIM would be a place for that type of information if anywhere in the district. But it doesn't really explain anything.

"How did you get access to these?" I question him, suspicious. SIM is highly secretive, it's not like anyone can know about them, much less see their security cameras inside of SIM. Hell, my dad has worked there my entire life and can't tell me a thing.

"I…well, let's just say I learned how to get around it. I found a book on hacking a computer about five years ago after I 'helped' Sullivan move into his house here. He never knew I took it because it was supposed to be in a box." He explains, and I quirk an eyebrow at him. Sullivan Grey is our most recent Victor, who won the 69th Hunger Games.

"Okay, so where did he get it?" I ask the obvious follow up question.

Cato shrugs and turns off the screen of the computer before shutting the thing down as he answers me, probably just being cautious. With good reason, of course. "Don't know. But his dad does work at SIM, I think something with technology. Maybe he stole it from his dad."

"And you stole it in return?" I question and he smiles a little.

"Borrowed. I borrowed it." He clarifies and I have to smirk a little. Yeah, borrowing without asking, which is basically stealing. Kind of like what I was going to do with his notebook. "I didn't really know what I was doing, but eventually I found my way to the SIM cameras. And well…it was too easy to just look at them whenever I could." He admits, and I smile in understanding. Any eleven year old would be tempted to, it's just too easy. "Eventually when the 70th Games came around and I was in here just sneaking a look on the screens, they started looking up names of people from other districts, and for some reason they seemed familiar. It took me until they got to our tributes, but I realized that it was all this crap on all the tributes. And well…"

"It was too tempting to not know." I finish for him, and he nods with a wicked grin. "What do they need to know it for?"

He shrugs and stands up from the chair, looking down to me. "Don't know. Maybe it's for the Gamemakers or something. They do seem to do a lot for the Capitol in there."

"Oh." I answer, nodding. I guess that would make sense. He hands me the file that he put on the desk and I look at him questioningly.

"What's this?" I ask, taking it from him.

"Copy of my notes. You know, since you've probably read like half of them and all, might as well have the rest." He smiles amusedly, and suddenly I'm overwhelmed by this random kindness. From Cato. Maybe he's really trying to be a friend after all because he knows how hard I'm taking Gale being away. Odd.

"Thank you." I reply sincerely, smiling up at him. I guess it wouldn't be so bad to have Cato as a friend, despite all of our teasing and fights in the past.

"Your welcome." He smiles back softly, and it confuses me. That is, until he takes me by surprise and his lips descend onto mine.


	10. Assumptions

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_Assumptions are the termites of relationships-Henry Winkler_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Katniss's POV

Utter shock keeps me from doing anything at first, but shock quickly gives way to disgust and an almost panic, which doesn't really make a whole lot of sense but I do. My hand comes up to his chest and shoves him away, a look of confusion and horror in my eyes.

"What the hell?" I protest, resisting the urge to wipe off my mouth. That was way out of line and I most definitely did not see that coming. I mean _Cato_ kissed me! I didn't even think he liked me much as a person, let alone like…like…that!

"I thought you wanted me to!" he explains, almost looking as confused as I am but it's not doing a good job of masking his hurt at my pushing him away and my reaction. But somehow I can't take this like a normal person would (or maybe I am, what do I know about this stuff?), so I continue.

"What the hell would make you think that?" I ask, bewildered. I really have no idea what I did to make him think I wanted that.

"Well you said you and Gale were just friends and you came over here and…" he tries to say, but it drifts off into nothing as he seems…embarrassed? I've never once in my life seen Cato Evans embarrassed, never thought he could be. It seems I was wrong.

"And that makes you think you can just kiss me?" I try to clarify, my eyes wide. I try not to have an angry tone and keep things calm even though my heart is racing, but the last part comes out almost squeaking.

"Well…yeah, I guess so." He shrugs, rubbing a hand through his hair and can't seem to look me in the eye. "You seemed so happy about having all that information."

I huff in frustration, but I'm beginning to see that we've just had a very huge misunderstanding. "I thought you were just trying to be nice. Like…I don't know, be a friend."

"I was, but…"

"Cato." I shake my head, taking a step back from him. "I…I didn't even know you felt that way. I thought we were just…well not friends exactly, but definitely not that."

"We could be." He offers, looking up and smiling as if he's not embarrassed anymore, just getting everything out in the open.

"I can't." I half whisper, barely shaking my head. He takes a gentle step forward and I take yet another one back.

"Sure you can. It's easy." He tries to tell me softly, but I can't do this. I don't want this. What is this with guys coming onto me all of a sudden, just out of the blue? At least Gale didn't have the nerve to just kiss me back at the Justice Building. He can certainly read me better than Cato can.

"No, I can't." I protest, louder this time. His mood darkens a little, and he's once again a sort of mean cocky attitude.

"You said you were just friends with Hawthorne, you cleared that up. What's the problem then?" he questions me.

"It's not that simple!" I object, suddenly wishing I never came over, curiosity or not. I should have just stuck with going home and watching that dumb television for answers, not came here with Cato and find out that he's some kind of illegal computer hacker.

"Sure it is." He shrugs, not getting the point.

"Just because I haven't done anything with Gale doesn't mean-" I begin, but he cuts me off.

"That you don't want to?" he tries to finish, and my mouth drops open in surprise. I was going to say that I want to do anything with you or anyone else, but I can't seem to find the words anymore. I can't believe he just went to _that_ conclusion. I haven't and don't want to do anything with Gale. Right? That dang memory of Gale and I the last time I saw him comes flashing back to the front of my mind, asking me to kiss him for good luck. Or was it just something more? Does he feel something for me? No, that's ridiculous, and I certainly don't…right? Or do I? I don't know anymore, I just can't stop thinking about it. And I do get annoyed irrationally when other girls squeal and shriek at him and how cute he is and everything since then. Do I want to kiss him? No, I don't. Do I?

"Of course." He rolls his eyes at me and snorts. "You and everyone else."

"I didn't say I did!" I reply in astonishment, but it's too quick.

"You didn't have to. You went red as a tomato which in most cultures means that would be a yes to my assumption." He mutters bitterly. I did? I need to stop thinking about Gale and kissing or whatever when I'm around other people if that's the case.

"Whatever." I roll my eyes. It's a lame answer, but it's not one I'm going to clarify for him. Once again, it's none of his damn business.

"Well whatever, I can wait. It won't take too long." He smirks at me, and it's my turn to be frustrated and confused.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I question, eyes wide and quizzical.

"It means that there are twenty four tributes and one Victor. Hawthorne's gonna have a rough ride getting back here alive so I figure once he doesn't it won't take too long." He reveals with a devious, almost mean 'take that' look. But all it serves to do is shock me and enrage me to my very core.

"Fuck you!" I yell at him, throwing the file him that he gave me, suddenly not wanting all his dirty information. I throw open the door with one last glare at him and stomp my way downstairs, not caring that Mira could easily see or hear me as I slam the front door closed and angrily start my long walk home in the moonlight.

How dare he! The nerve! Where in his head did he think kissing me, accussing me of basically liking Gale and then telling me I'd run to him if (no…when according to him) Gale died? He's completely, utterly, out of his damn mind. That is, assuming he even has a brain.

I'm so busy brooding over how pissed I am at Cato and the fact that I was stupid enough to go over to his house in the first place that I practically miss that someone's coming my way. I glance up and find Marc with a look of surprise on his face, and I curse at myself internally. I really should stop trying to think when I'm angry because all my hunting skills apparently disappear. If I had noticed him before then I could have avoided that concerned look I'm getting now from him. Great.

"Katniss, hi. What are you doing out here so late?" he questions me, searching my face for an answer before I even give him one. Alright, calm down Katniss. Don't need him to know the truth. Or at least part of it.

"I thought I left my notebook in the auditorium, but I couldn't find it." I lie, my excuse for the night it seems. Oh well, at least I'm being consistent.

"And you're walking home by yourself?" he questions me, clearly not approving. Well I guess it is dark out and I am alone. It's probably not that safe but I really wasn't thinking about that. I don't even have my handy knife that I always have in my belt tonight. Well…that's probably a good thing actually. I might have been tempted to use it on Cato if I did, and that wouldn't have ended well.

I shrug. "I guess so." It's really not that far I guess. Twenty minutes or so at most, and I do know the route.

He looks at me, contemplating something before glancing at his watch. "It's too far to go by yourself alone, Katniss. There have been…kidnappings recently."

"What?" I reply, eyes wide and astonished. I hadn't heard of that. My parents would kill me if they knew I was walking alone in the dark for so long if they knew.

He sighs but nods, clearly a little uncomfortable. "Yes, the peacekeepers are trying to keep it on the down low to not worry people, but Ryder let it slip the other night."

"Oh." I answer, not knowing what to say.

"I'd walk you home myself but I have to go to work. Why don't I walk you to our house and you can spend the night there. You can call your parents from our phone." He offers, and I'm taken aback by the suggestion. It's not like the Hawthorne's aren't just like family, but I've never spent the night there before. Though I guess that had to do with Gale being a boy and all and they probably thought we'd date one day or something, and it's not like he's here now. And while I'm tempted to just say no and go on my way, I know he'll never let me. Just like a dad.

"Okay." I nod, and he turns on his heel and I fall into step next to him as he sets a fast pace home. The Hawthorne's live in the east side of the district, but pretty close to town. It's probably only a five minute walk from here, and we arrive in no time. Before he opens the door he looks to me.

"You okay Katniss? You seemed upset about something." He questions me with a sort of parental concern. I'm not surprised he's asking, but I don't feel comfortable telling him. Mostly because it has to do with Cato and his son and _kissing_.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I insist. He doesn't really seem to believe me, but doesn't push it. Instead, he opens the door and I go behind him, quickly explaining to Hazelle what I'm doing here before saying goodbye and leaving once again for work. Hazelle, of course, is just fine with me being here. She seems to be happy about it actually.

"You can go get ready for bed in the bathroom if you'd like while I call your mother. We have spare towels and a toothbrush in the cabinet. And if you want to talk I'm here." She informs me, and I give her a smile and for the moment all my anger from my situation is forgotten as I think wryly that it's funny how I wished before that I had a mother like Hazelle and now she's mothering me. I don't think Marc had to inform her I'm upset about something, she just knows.

"Thanks, but I really don't want to talk about it right now." I explain, because there's no use hiding it from her. If Hazelle knows something's off, she won't take your crap that nothing's wrong. Gale told me a long time ago that it's just better to admit it from the start and she'll give you time to process instead of lying and she'll force it out of you then and there.

"Well alright." She nods as she dries the last plate she washed, and changes the subject. "Posy will be excited to have a sleepover with you I'm sure."

"I'm sure she will." I smile, finding it funny somehow. It's not like I've been to a ton of sleepovers, and now I have one with a five year old. Granted, Posy is the cutest five year old I know so it might be fun.

Well fun for as long as she's up, that is. When she goes to sleep I'll be left with my thoughts and the darkness, and then I can't escape thinking about what I wish was never something I needed to.

Gosh, boys make things complicated.

* * *

Gale's POV

The early sun shines brightly on my face from the window the morning after the scores come in, and while I didn't get much sleep last night from all the excitement, my eyes open right away. However, the light blinds me and suddenly my awful headache from my hangover dawns on me with full force, like it's pounding into me. After the scores of ten for both Clove and I came in last night, our entire floor was estatic. I really wanted an eleven, but a ten was nothing to scoff at and I didn't bother saying that I was slightly disappointed in myself. No one would understand anyway…or at least not here anyway. So I pushed that thought aside and before the scores for District 4 came on we were all drinking champagne that Marcellus called an avox to bring, and I downed my first glass. By the time the scores were done all of us had finished at least two glasses, and I was on my fourth. And then we drank after the scores too, long into the night with all of us getting drunk.

Turns out that Fangula is a hilarious drunk and I actually sort of like her that way. She got this crazy idea to do karaoke which is apparently singing, and while she was an awful singer her and Marcellus sang all these songs very drunkenly and bad, but being drunk myself it was just downright hilarious and entertaining despite the fact that I knew none of the songs. I drifted off to bed in the wee hours of the morning and now I'm paying for it.

I've never been drunk before, never really even had the opportunity to. I've only ever tried alcohol once actually before I volunteered at the Reaping, back on one of my nights gallivanting. One of the kids had bought a bottle at the black market and somehow snuck it out to our spot in the woods without anyone catching him, and the eight or so of us sat by a campfire all night and passed it around until it was gone. I certainly felt something, but I only had maybe three sips; It's nothing compared to last night. And considering how shitty I feel this morning, I don't plan on making it a regular thing. Being drunk is fun and all, but the hangover is not worth it.

Thank god that I don't have training or anything today. In fact, if I had to pick any day to be hungover today would be the right day. It's prep day for the interviews, which means I'll be spending most of today either with Jay or Marcellus, who as escort will be splitting his time between Clove and I on appearance and manners or whatever. No one but the people on our floor will see me today, so I'll be alright. Besides, it's a decent bet that all of us are hungover this morning so we're all in the same boat anyway.

I sit up and bed and immediately find that was a bad idea. God my head fucking hurts. Leaning against the headboard, I groan with my eyes closed and wishing the damn sun would go away. The door opens quietly I'd assume but it sounds so much louder and far more annoying than it should be. Apparently my senses are on high alert with this feeling too. Squinting at the door expecting an avox because Marcellus certainly wouldn't be up this early, I'm surprised to find my mentor who definitely doesn't appear as hungover as I am or what he should be. I didn't really count anyone else's drinks, but I know he had at least three glasses of champagne last night, probably more.

"Having a good morning kid?" he smiles wryly, seeming amused that I'm hungover.

"Fantastic." I mutter sarcastically, rubbing my aching head. Well it should be fantastic; it is a Sunday after all. Actually that just makes it worse because I think it's the first one that I won't hunt on. Even when I had training on Sundays in the past six months or so I'd always sneak out early in the morning before dawn and meet Katniss for a few hours. Even if we didn't hunt we'd still be in the woods. God, this is only making me miss her more. I should probably stop thinking about her so damn much and focus on the looming arena, but I just can't seem to help myself. It only darkens my mood to accompany my hangover.

"Here, these will help." Jay insists as he holds out two red pills and a glass of water. I don't know what they are or what they'll do but I trust that it has to be worth a shot anyway; I really doubt it will make me feel worse than I already do. So I take them from Jay and toss the pills back and greedily suck down the entire glass of water, not realizing how dry my mouth was or how incredibly thirsty I was until now. In fact, I'm disappointed when the glass is empty because I really want more. Like an entire gallon more.

"Thanks." I murmur, putting the glass on the bedside table, regretting the fact that I'm too damn lazy to just get my ass up and fill it again. I will though…you know, eventually.

"So I see you're in great shape to work on interviews this morning." Jay comments with a smile, but I'm not amused by him. Finding the energy to roll my eyes at him somehow, I clutch the comforter in my hand.

"See you're not hung over like you should be." I say right back to him, annoyed for some reason.

He laughs at my comment before shaking his head like he's in on some big joke I don't get. "That's because I know my limits, and now you've made your own mistakes and can see that whatever that number was, it certainly wasn't yours."

Make my own mistakes? Well it's not like I was really caring how much I drank, but I guess he has a point. "Then why didn't you stop me?" I could have avoided this feeling at least a little had he. I would have grumbled at him, but today I would have appreciated it. Or maybe not. I wouldn't have known this hell to compare it to.

"Well you had to learn sometime, kid. Let's call it a lesson for your future." He smiles and snorts, but I'm past the annoyance at the moment.

"You're acting like I need to know when I'm going into the arena to fight for my life in a few days." I observe, astonished though I don't know why. It's just…well just because I have confidence in myself doesn't mean that Jay's ever flat out said something like that. Something like he knows I'm coming out of that arena a Victor. It's just not his style. He's more the 'get your ass up and work because you never know what can happen' kind of guy.

"Don't you think you can win?" he questions me with an eyebrow quirked, seeming to contemplate something. Like it's weird that I think his comment was weird.

"Of course I do." I insist, but continue to explain. "But you've never said something like that to me before."

He gives me a look and takes a moment before he answers. "I don't choose a kid to train unless they have two things in my book; I have to have confidence in them and I have to like them."

Wow well that's…flattering I guess. But in a way it does make sense. I mean why would you train someone for years to be a tribute if you didn't have any faith in them? Doesn't make much sense unless you just really want to mentor for some reason. But the second part gives me pause.

"Why did you like me? I hadn't really done anything particularly stellar when I was fourteen to make you commit to me." I ask, curiosity at once overtaking me. I don't know why I never asked or even thought about that before. Guess I never thought he necessarily had to like me to train me. In fact, I've been questioning his position of liking me ever since I met him. Jay is not exactly the most clear when it comes to feelings. Sort of like myself I suppose.

"Oh it wasn't when you were fourteen; that was just when it was appropriate to begin training you." He informs me, and I quirk an eyebrow at him. Oh? What is that supposed to mean?

"When then?" I ask, almost laughing. I don't know why I thought it was when I was fourteen when I think about it. After all, Jay does everything for a reason whether you know what it is or not. Which means if I couldn't think of an instance when he started training me, it had to be something else. But that's the thing; I can't think of much other than practicing with snares or a bow when I was younger than that. And while I was at the top of my class, it wouldn't necessarily get Jay's attention specifically.

"Well I happened to be walking around some of the younger classrooms a long time ago, I think you were nine. And you were talking to a group of boys after watching Enobaria's Hunger Games tape and claimed that she drank blood, called her Fangula." He explains, and suddenly I'm laughing hysterically.

"That? That is what got your attention?" I get out through my laughing. I don't know why it's so damn funny, but I guess it's just so…Jay to like me because of something that superfluous.

"Yep. I never liked her either and when the name spread like wildfire her annoyance at it was enough to make me satisfied. Enough for me to know that I wanted you." He grins, and I shake my head as my laughter dies down, suddenly all thoughts of my massive headache forgotten. This is just too good. If I didn't like Jay before I certainly do now.

"So you never told her." I muse, grinning like a fool. "She still has no clue it was me who started that."

"Well I wouldn't go telling her now. She'd have your head for it, and trust me, she wouldn't hesitate to give Clove a direct order to kill you for it." He warns me, though he knows it's not necessary. I'm not sure she'd go quite that far as to tell Clove to kill me for it, but it is the arena. Clove is out for me anyway I'm sure because there's only one winner, and if Enobaria were to give her a reason to other than that then she'd take it.

"Do I know it." I assure him, and he nods in agreement. Feeling a lot better now though I expect it has more to do with these revelations than the medicine though I'm certain that's doing wonders on it's own, I push the covers aside and get up, stretching and going over to the giant menu thing to order more water. When I come back with it gulping it down, Jay is just watching me from the bed. It would be creepy if it was just about anyone else, but on him it just looks contemplating.

Okay, it's a little creepy. But it's my crazy mentor so it just comes off as normal, so I try to let it go.

"That name spreading like wildfire, it's also a reason I liked you. You clearly have some sort of power; popularity if you will." He begins with no preamble, and he could just be thinking aloud if he wasn't looking directly at me. But I don't bother commenting on it because I don't really know what to say. Would thank you even be an appropriate response for that? I really don't know.

"And I can see it now, as you can. You chose popularity as your strategy and with that can come great power if you use it correctly. Your looks can get you far, but you need to take it to new levels if it's going to do you any good in the arena." He continues, and it's at this point I decide to stop his muttering.

"And how do you propose I do that?" I ask him, perplexed. I have my own plans and he's already told me that he wants to be surprised by what I do (probably for his own entertainment), but I hadn't quite thought about it this way. I just have my own loose agenda that's still coming together.

"That we can talk about later." He waves it off before standing from his place on the corner of my bed and crossing his arms over his chest, gazing at me as if he's trying to decide what to do with me. It's sort of like how Plumagi and her band of idiots take me in, but far less disturbing. Though that could have everything to do with the fact that I'm not naked right now and Jay is not trying to have sex with me unlike they seem to want to. "Now we talk about how that will be used in your interview."

Well that is what today is for I guess. _What a fantastic Sunday _I think sarcastically. I wonder what Katniss will think of this. I don't think she's really paid attention or cared before about all the girls I fooled around with if she even knew, but I'd hope she'd be paying attention now. Well not today really since I'm not doing anything that she'll see, but at least that it's a Sunday and we won't see each other. Is she hunting without me? Probably. My normal Sunday is breakfast with my family where Posy always looks pathetically at my last pancake and I almost always give it to her because she's my adorable little sister who has us all wrapped around her fingers, and then I go to the woods sometimes with Dad and meet Katniss and her dad Nic. But not today; it will be different for both of us. It's silly that I hope she's thinking about me, but once again I just can't help myself. Geez Gale, focus on your strategy here. Think about that later.

"And what would that be?" I ask him, and a smirk graces his face that makes me think that I'm in for a ride on this one. No wonder he only wanted to know this; he's probably been thinking only of this crazy scheme to get me as many especially wealthy and generous sponsors as possible.

"Let me ask you something." He begins, looking me up and down. "How do you feel about public displays of affection?"

I'm sort of taken aback by his question, but I feel like I don't have a choice in my answer. If I'm going all out then there's only one answer to that. "I'm okay with them."

He smiles like he's just hatched a great plan, and it suddenly dawns on me that I'm the chick he's hatched. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that, especially when this chicken's goes by Jayant Tiber. Though I suppose it's better than being Fangula's victim like Clove.

"Good."


	11. Purposeful

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy. – Og Mandino_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Katniss's POV 

Out in the woods like every Sunday, I breathe easier. The woods has always has that effect on me, but today it's only just better than the district. I know it has to do with my growing feeling of missing my best friend, especially out here, but I try not to let that get to me. If I'm distracted I won't get much of anything, and the real world has it's demands too, not just my mind which I can't seem to escape no matter how much I want to sometimes; Ryder still needs to be paid so we can keep coming out here.

I suppose it does help that I'm with Dad today, though. Since Marc worked the night shift last night as he has planned to most days for the durance of the Hunger Games this year so that he can watch Gale as much as he can, he came home around breakfast time this morning and after saying hello to his family and me because I was still there on Hazelle's insistence to eat and sat down for a quick meal before going to sleep. He seemed very tired and I couldn't blame him, but it didn't keep him quiet any. He still joked around with his children like he would any meal I suppose, though if it was me I'd just be skipping food and sleeping right there at the table. And much to my confusion, he chuckled at me too. I don't know what's so amusing about me giving Posy my last pancake after she looked like she was begging for it, but apparently Marc found something in it. Maybe he was just slap happy from his lack of sleep or something.

Either way, he went to bed pretty much right after and after I helped Hazelle clear the dishes I insisted that I should leave to meet my dad in the woods. She just nodded and I went to gather my few things, thinking I was actually in the clear and she wasn't going to make me talk or admit outloud what my problem was last night. But of course the television happened to be on when I came back out, and of course it had to be about the current Hunger Games (not like anything else would be on right now). It wasn't really about the assessment of the scores or anything like you would assume though considering the scores just came out last night. It was more of a gossip show.

Two Capitol ladies that I don't recognize but I'd assume were the Cisco Sisters since that seemed to be the show's name were gabbing to themselves and the audience about the current tributes, seeming delighted by whatever was coming out of anyone's mouth. They of course ogled over Glimmer's looks as well as Gale's, but that's not what bothered me because despite it annoying me still I'm somehow getting used to that. It's when they start debating that about how they feel about each other that bothers me. One of the sisters starts informing the audience on some big secret she knows, apparently one of her 'insiders' at the tribute training that informed her that the two were _very_ touchy feely during training and perhaps there was love in the air?

I scoff, but inside my annoyance is at war with my disbelief and jealousy. It's training, why on earth would Gale be doing anything but that? And 'touchy feely'? I've known Gale practically my whole life and probably better than anyone, and that's not something I would describe him as. Though I guess I don't really know what he does with other girls…not that he doesn't do it because I'm not deaf, I do hear the rumors and girls talking about him. It's that I never asked, never cared. Before that is.

"They'll say anything to get people watching, Katniss." Hazelle's voice comes from behind me, and I turn around to find her with a knowing look on her face. Dang it, I thought I was in the clear. Why oh why did I stop to watch this stupid show? Oh right, because apparently I'm addicted to anything that pops up with Gale's name on it anymore. I'm starting to think I have a real issue here.

"I know. It just caught my attention on my way out." I try, hoping for nonchalant and that I can use this as my timely exit. But this is Hazelle; of course that's not going to fly.

I'm almost out the door when she says something that stops me, in a voice so understanding and just _knowing_ with a layer of sympathy that it freezes me in my tracks. "I miss him too. We all do."

Well dang it, this is what I get for wishing I had a mother like Hazelle. I don't even have to say a word about what's wrong with me and she can just guess. Well…half of it anyway. That was certainly part of my problem last night, but not all of it. But it doesn't stop me from feeling weak and something in me is urging me to ask the question out loud I've been asking myself since he left.

"I just…how do I deal with it?" I ask, and it almost sounds broken which vexes me. It wasn't until this point that I realized how incredibly lonely I am without Gale here. He's my best friend, but also pretty much my only friend by choice. No wonder I was reading Cato all wrong last night thinking he wanted to be my friend. Maybe if I wasn't so desperate for friendship I would have seen how incredibly stupid I was not to pick up on that.

"Oh honey." Her voice sighs and she gently turns me around with a hand on my shoulder and pulls me into an embrace, which in my weakened emotional state I give into. "Just have confidence that he's where he needs to be. And you can always come here and miss him with us. Anytime."

"Thank you." I barely whisper, though I know she hears it. She lets me go and puts a hand to my cheek with a soft smile, but in her eyes I see all the hurt and missing pieces of her life that are probably in mine too. After that she let's me go, and I think how nice it is as bad as it sounds to have people that feel like I do.

I'm walking down the sidewalk with the woods as my destination when she calls my name and I look back to find her in the doorframe with an almost inperceptable look on her face.

"And when you do come back, perhaps we can talk about what else is bothering you." She informs me and I almost slap myself for thinking I could get away with it. What was I thinking? This is Hazelle. I nod because I don't trust my voice not to yell or anything and quickly turn back around and desperately try not to run until I'm out of her sight, but one thing keeps running through my head.

Damn that woman is perceptive.

* * *

Gale's POV

"You ready for this?" Jay questions me after waving my giggling prep team off (much to my relief; I'm fine with the liking me, but you'd think they'd be at least a little over it by now). Plumagi stays much to my surprise, but she doesn't seem phased by Jay's presence or his question. Maybe she knows more than she lets on.

"I guess." I shrug, knowing I already committed so it's not like I have much of a choice. "It's just…Katniss." I admit, the only one I'm really worried at how this night could affect someone. I don't think she likes me as more of a friend at all, and considering I just kind of sprung the kiss thing on her as soon as I left she's definitely a little more than confused. It worries me not that I may hurt her with this because I don't know how she feels at the moment (which in a sort of irrational way really bothers me because I know the girl better than herself), but I'm going to look like a complete hypocrite. It's not going to bode well for me if she cares if I make it home even though she promised that kiss when I did, and it certainly won't bode well if I don't make it home because she'll only think of me as that. I'd hope that she knows me better than that and that it's just a strategy, but you never know with her.

"Oh Hawthorne…" Jay shakes his head with a rueful smile, somehow pulling off amused and sympathetic at the same time. Only him. "It's not too late to change your game plan."

"Isn't it?" I ask rhetorically, a bitter expression on my face. Even if it wasn't my plan from the beginning to use my looks it seems that it would have inevitably followed me. I don't really have time let alone the interest to watch any of the shows about tributes this year, but my prep team is certainly delighted to fill me in and beg for more gossip from the tribute himself. All the rumors are just that; rumors. Well, for the most part anyway. Glimmer did kiss me that once which I was not prepared for, but I guess it's up to me to make those rumors true. Or at least seem true.

"I think your plan is brilliant personally. Besides, won't the girl forgive you when you get back to explain?" Plumagi butts in, and I quirk an eyebrow at her. Who the hell told her my plan? Not Jay…Marcellus. Of course. Gossippy light bulb meets purple fairy and your bound to end up in a world full of colorful stories, true or not.

"She's a stubborn one. Just like him." Jay explains as he nods to me and I roll my eyes at him. I suppose it's true, but my stylist didn't need to know that. But all she does is laugh.

"Well use that stubbornness and put it to good use! Stick to your guns on this strategy and let the pieces fall where they may." She suggests, still laughing. Even Jay cracks a smile at her insistence and I find myself fighting one too. I guess she has a point there. Besides, this strategy is a good one. Very good, actually. Just like Clove said, killing two birds with one stone and they did it to themselves.

"Look Gale. I know Katniss is important to you and the reason your questioning this, but hopefully if all goes well she'll understand before you would even have to explain it to her. It's going to suck if it hurts her now, but-" Jay tries to explain to make me feel better, but Plumagi cuts him off.

"But she won't be here for you to explain to! So why not?" she interrupts, and Jay looks at her incredulously while I glare at her.

"Actually," Jay gives her a quick dirty look that she misses, "I was going to say that she's a smart girl. She knows you well, right?"

"Yeah." I nod, waiting for him to finish. Better than anyone. Even myself sometimes.

"Then she may figure it out on her own soon enough anyway." He finishes, and I sigh. I'm still not one hundred percent gungho on this, but I suppose they do both have a point, even the ones that they aren't saying. Maybe I can even throw in some clandestine apology or hint to Katniss out there or even in the arena tomorrow so that she knows. I know she'll be watching my every tiny move because I would be if our roles were reversed, and with us, it wouldn't even take much. Just one tiny gesture that wouldn't mean crap to anyone other than a bodily twitch if they caught it at all would be a message to her. Yeah…I guess that's as good of a plan as any. Maybe she'll even forgive me one day for trying to get loads of sponsors.

"Okay, I'll do it." I decide. I don't have to like it, but I'll do it. Make it a damn good one too.

Jay nods and gestures for me to follow him out the door and I do with Plumagi in tow. We come out of my room to the lobby where Clove, Fangula and her stylist are already waiting with Marcellus, and after a good thirty seconds of Marcellus gushing at how perfect we both look we're finally allowed to get into the elevator and get the ball rolling.

Neither Clove and I talk on the elevator, Plumagi and Marcellus filling the silence just fine, and I think we're both secretly relieved to leave our mentors and stylists as well as our flamboyant escort. After only seeing them for the past two days with no other interactions with others it's a breath of fresh air to be rid of them, if only for a little while.

"Thank god, I thought I was never going to get rid of him!" Clove mutters as soon as we're out of hearing range from the rest of our crew.

"Marcellus?" I guess, and she nods.

"I'm fine with the whole bright happy yellow thing." She starts, which brings a surprised smile to my face. Well that's a surprise in itself. Clove is a lot of things, but a happy bubbly person is not one of them. She's too badass for that stuff and I wouldn't think that she'd even tolerate it well let alone be alright with someone being like that all the damn time. "He just creeps me out. Always coming just a little too close to me, and when he wakes me up in the morning I get the feeling he's been watching me for much too long."

"I think that's just the way Capitolites are." I shrug, but I get what she means. My prep team and Plumagi are sort of like that too, but maybe that's just how they're raised here. Don't get me wrong I'm all for hugging and being affectionate with my family and Katniss when she lets me, but anyone else on a normal basis I don't get too close to like that. Well, except all those girls I did stuff with over the years, but that's totally different.

"Well it's still creepy." She insists bitterly.

"What's still creepy?" a voice comes from our left, and we both glance to see Marvel getting a glass of water from a table before walking over to us, clearly having been eavesdropping.

"We found someone that looks exactly like someone from home on our walk over here." she lies. I'm not sure why she does other than the fact that it's none of Marvel's business, but I don't rat her out. Even now we're playing the game, and that means to an extent that district partners have each other's backs and don't go stab them until it's necessary. Besides, I don't like the kid enough anyway to trust that he won't somehow turn that information against us. I don't know how he could possibly use Marcellus is a creep against us, but I'm sure there's a way.

"Oh." He replies, clearly disappointed. Guess he thought that it was something juicier than that. Or that he's picked up that it's a lie and we're not telling him. Whatever, who cares. I've got more pressing problems on my plate this evening to worry about Marvel. His district partner on the other hand…

"Marv come on, we gotta get in line!" she calls out to him, and smiles a catlike grin when she sees who held him up. She looks me up and down and I'm almost guilty to say I'm doing the same. It's hard not to look at her outfit, though. Or rather, the lack thereof.

I think it's supposed to be a shimmery gold, but it's practically a see through dress she's got on. That is if you could even call it a dress with how short the thing is and how low the cut on top is, and skintight too. Not much is left to the imagination with that thing, and my testosterone seems to be getting the best of me and I have to fight to not let my jaw drop or drool over it like a hormone crazed fool. She'd have any guy drooling over her in that thing, I'd bet even the happiest married guy in Panem.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming. Why are you being so pushy?" Marvel mutters in response, seeming annoyed with her. But his face doesn't drop below her head, and I'm starting to question what I thought was obvious about her look. Is he really not fazed by _that_? All week he's seemed to have some obsession when it comes to the tributes he's planning on killing, and they're all girls. So why is he not drooling over this one? Just because he's annoyed that she's getting all the attention even though he got a better training score? Are the somehow related and just not telling anyone?

Frankly, I don't know why I'm questioning his lack of drooling. Maybe because he makes me feel guilty for mine.

Glimmer, however, ignores his question as she blatantly checks me out. I'm not wearing anything too special, just a black suit and a little too tight on purpose blue shirt that's messily buttoned (also purposefully) with no tie. I certainly don't look as put together as say Marvel, but it probably does look sexier. I guess that's what Plumagi was going for though (especially considering she apparently knows of my strategy tonight), so I'm assuming that it's working.

"Can't wait to see you up there, Gale." She says seductively with a wink, somehow making my name seem like a breathy moan like you would in sex. It's sort of disturbing how easily she can do that with my name. When I only nod she pretends that it doesn't bother her that she didn't get a better response out of me and takes Marvel's wrist in her hand, dragging him behind her as she walks off. Or more like sexily strutting as her skimpily clad ass sways so obviously on purpose to try to get something out of me. I'm still watching her when Clove snorts.

"Well done, Glimmer. You pull off slut splendidly." She muses in a low voice, clearly amused by it. Slut…yeah, I guess that's a good description for that look. Not that any guy's first thought would be that. "Even had you drooling Mr. I'm The One With a Plan.

"Was not." I protest, crossing my arms over my chest. Well I wasn't…on the outside anyway. Clove rolls her eyes but just shrugs.

"You wanted to." She exclaims, and I don't protest. That's true enough I suppose.

"I've still got a plan, you know." I inform her, and she smiles cockily.

"And I can't wait to see it." She laughs, as if she has some big secret. What does she know? Who told her something? Does she know what I'm going to do?

But she doesn't give me a chance to ask because she walks off when one of the guys in charge of the show gestures for us to come over as if he's trying to hurry us because we're late, and I follow, somewhat annoyed that I don't know.

I never get the chance to ask either because no sooner than I'm in arm's reach of the guy he pulls me in line behind Clove and in front of the girl from District 3, and we're walking into the theater where the shouts and cheers are blocking out all thought it's so loud, so I quickly smile my most charming-look-at-me smile and wave as I go to my seat, and sit down in my chair once I get there. Caeser's on the stage waving at the crowd and once everyone I'd assume has sat down in their chairs tribute-wise he tries to get the audience to quiet down a little.

Once he accomplishes that he welcomes them all to the interviews, asking if they're excited to talk to us, blah blah blah. I know I should be paying more attention and I normally would, but I guess I'm still a little nervous about my little surprise PDA that I'll be doing in less than twenty minutes. Not only that, I still have no fucking clue how to give Katniss a sign from here that it's all just part of the plan without tipping anyone else off, especially those involved in this little plan that I so desperately need to not know. It's one thing if Clove figures it out because she already sort of knows the plan (if someone didn't tell her all the specifics of tonight's part in it), and I don't see her fucking it up for me. Like she said earlier in the week, she's perfectly fine with it.

So with my interrupting thoughts, I only realize that Caeser has already started calling up interviews when Glimmer sashays past me, purposefully letting her hand graze my knee when she goes by. When she gets up onto the stage Caeser pretends that he's having a heart attack because he's burning up from her looks, and she gives a wink and a knowing grin to the camera while letting out a sexy little giggle. Caeser gestures for her to sit down as the audience is dying down (most of the male population screaming from what I can tell…figures), and she can barely sit without that thing showing off literally everything. No question she's going to get a majority of the men to sponsor her, but that's alright. If I get all the women I'd say we're pretty even until she's no longer getting sponsors.

I pretend to pay attention, but really I don't care. Her strategy has been so fucking obvious to the whole of Panem since the moment she was reaped that the words coming out of her mouth are just that; words. Besides, I doubt any of her potential sponsors are even listening to a word she says, still stuck on looking at her well…everything. If you're going to sell yourself like that, then that's expected. I suppose she says something about me though since the camera turns to me, and at this point I suppose I should actually pay attention. So I look like I'm intrigued with whatever she said and wait for someone to clue me in.

"Well I'd say that he's a looker too. Any action there?" he questions Glimmer looking for gossip, and I almost roll my eyes. Yeah, only because she did it herself. I had nothing to do with that other than a little flirting.

She bores her eyes into me and smirks before looking at the audience like she has a big secret. And with the tension in the room, I'd say that every ear and eye is on her right now begging for something. "Maybe." She gives them, and there are gleeful shrieks and applause that follows. "Maybe you'll even see something in the arena…"

"Oh?" Caeser can't contain some of his genuine surprise and excitement even for how good as his job he his. But the buzzer rings then and he finishes. "Well I'm sure I speak for everyone watching that we'll be looking forward to seeing if that's true, but for now your time is up. Thank you Glimmer!"

Oh I'm sure they are. Anything for a good show, right? Well if it's a show they want, then I'll be happy to give it to them. Well…mostly.

Cheers follow as she puts her hip out a little as he holds her hand up, and when she lets go she exits the stage the opposite side she came onto as Marvel makes his way up to the echoes of Glimmer's exit.

Once again I revert to not really paying attention, but it seems that Marvel is trying hard to get the crowd as excited about him as they were about Glimmer. He tries to be funny and while we laughed at his jokes in training they don't really have any effect on the audience here, but I guess it's because they sort of suck now. Maybe he's just nervous or something. Either way his three minutes seem to drag in comparison to Glimmer's, and as he exits the stage Clove goes up.

She has a better reception than Marvel, but I think it's mostly because of all Caeser's praise from her ten for her score. She's also a better interviewee than Marvel is, which sort of surprises me though I don't know why. I guess it's just that I never thought about it before, because though we've trained together this part of the process was never included for obvious reasons. Though one thing's for certain; she didn't get these skills from Fangula. Maybe they're just natural.

Her time ticks though and I find myself trying to pump up, get ready for this and get it over with. It's funny because I was always so ready for this part, knew I could do this. I'm not the best talker in the world but I figured out a long time ago that I could just charm my way through the thing and maybe not have to really talk about anything at all that wasn't superficial. So when Clove makes her decent down the stairs and Caeser delightedly calls my name, I make my way towards the stage.

Screams and high pitched shrieks meet my waves and smiles, and once again Caeser has to calm down the crowd before we can speak. It takes a while, but that's fine with me; less talking. Closer to just getting this over with.

"So Gale, you've made _quite_ the impression in the short amount of time you've been here." he comments first, and I give him a smirk that I desperately hope comes off more charming than cocky, though I suppose a little cocky would be alright. Or at least Jay seems to think so, and I'll go with pretty much anything Jay says at this point no matter my opinion.

"Have I?" I ask, as if I didn't notice. "I was just being myself." I shrug, though even I know that's sort of being cocky. But I suppose it's true in a way…you know, aside from the blatantly obvious flirting in public. Or public enough anyway.

"Well, being yourself has done you wanders!" Caeser laughs, and continues with some of my 'wonders' as he puts it. "A ten in training is nothing to scoff at, and I think I speak for all the ladies in Panem when I say boy, you've done something right with those looks."

The girls in the audience and some of the men much to my amusement cheer in agreement. I'd think it disturbing that men thought I was hot normally and I do to an extent, but the more potent feeling at the moment is the amusement because it means a few less male sponsors for the sexpot down there in gold.

"Don't forget what those looks can get me." I remind him, going into what Jay told me to do. He figured that the interview would lead me somewhere in this direction, but a push in the right direction for my 'big moment' as he put it wouldn't hurt.

And just as he predicted, Caeser is delighted in the change of course. "Of course, how could we forget? I know your fellow tribute already suggested that something was going on, but would you care to give us details?"

He's intrigued and exactly where I want him, and the audience seems to be the same as they're excitedly shushing each other. Well guess it's time to get the show on the road, Gale. Don't blow it.

"There is a girl I'm interested in down there in case that's what you were wondering." I inform them, and cheers erupt. I glance to Glimmer and find her beaming, and on my way to scan the rest of the tributes I find Clove smirking and rolling her eyes, Havana wary and somewhat annoyed and…jealous? Perfect. Most of the other tributes just seem to know where I'm going with this, but I shake my head and smirk at them in my mind. If only they knew.

"Oh?" Caeser starts, but I don't let him finish.

"Yes. In fact, I think the audience deserves to know right now." I exclaim as I get up and don't wait for a reaction, choosing to go down the same side of the stage as I came up on purposefully. I don't look at the other tributes as I walk past them to my destination but I know every eye is on me. I glance to Glimmer and see her stand up waiting for me, and I smile. But then in my mind I remember I didn't clue Katniss in. Crap! Oh well, guess I'll have to do it in the arena.

I stop before Glimmer though and turn to the girl in front of me, who looks for lack of a better word, dumbfounded. But I don't give Havana a chance to say anything as my lips descend onto hers.


	12. Irrationality

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_You have to think an awful lot about your motivations or people's behavioral intentions or what their body language can indicate or what's really going on or what makes people sometimes do, sometimes, the irrational things they do.-Ron Silver_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Katniss's POV

If the word priceless had a face, at the moment I think it would be Glimmer's. Even from here in District 2 watching on my family's television screen, her reaction to Gale's not so secretive on purpose kiss with that girl from District 4 right there, right in the middle of his interview, could win awards. And as much as I hate to say it, I think Glimmer might have a contender for that award; me.

For maybe a minute, maybe five minutes, I just simply can't breathe. My eyes are glued to the screen where time seems to have frozen somehow, going in slow motion as it keeps replaying in my head. Glimmer's blatantly obvious flirting, Gale's interview that he was interested in someone down there. Kissing someone that was not Glimmer. Kissing. Someone. On television.

And all of a sudden I'm snapped back into reality, and I revert back to my tried and true method of dealing with things; running away. I practically jump off the couch and sprint from the living room where I'm certain that I'm getting looks from my family and the undoubted questions that are yet to come as in 'why the hell are you running away?' and more during a mandatory broadcasting? Even as I burst out the front door I can't help but be relieved that I decided not to go to the Academy to watch tonight like so many other kids that train, or the town square where I'll have to go watch at some point this week as everyone does. What makes me even more relieved is that I declined Hazelle's offer via Rory to watch the interviews with them, knowing that after our little talk yesterday I didn't want to face her yet. Now more than ever.

I run until I'm at the end of the block and cross through someone's yard to the edge of the small woods that are the beginnings of the end of District 2 on the south side, running for five minutes or so until the telltale soft buzz of the fence can be heard that is electrified twenty four seven, stopping by a random tree and holding onto it with both hands with my head bent down, catching my breath. And it's not so much from the running and almost everything to do with what I just saw that has me breathless.

Gale…he…and…why? Why am I so irrationally acting this way? Even I don't really know, it was just involuntary I guess. Something deep within me felt betrayed by his actions and I just…reacted. But why? I already knew that he did stuff with other girls over the years even if we never talked about it. It never bothered me before, not really. So why now, when he's gone off to the Hunger Games and kissing another girl while a girl he may or may not have kissed at some point who let's face it, is far prettier and sexier than I will ever be, is so blatantly flirting with him?

Is it because he asked me to kiss him before he left? It must be, since that's the only rational explanation I can think of. It's just kissing. On television. In front of the entire country. Right? Just because he wanted to kiss me or felt nervous or whatever shouldn't mean anything to me. We're just best friends; I shouldn't want to kiss him or feel…well, whatever it is I'm feeling right now because he's kissing another girl. I mean I've kissed other guys before. Heck, I kissed one just two days ago. Well, he kissed me and I didn't want it but still. And I told Cato that we were just friends.

Boy am I glad more than ever that I didn't go to the Academy tonight, because it's a sure bet that Cato is there. And seeing how our last meeting went, he would interpret this how I wouldn't want him to. Or is it the truth? Is he right about me wanting to do something with Gale? I really want to say no, but my irrational behavior is telling everyone otherwise.

Finally catching my breath I sit down and lean against the tree trunk, my head in my hands as I get a grip on myself. Okay focus Katniss. You're going to have to go home soon and face everyone, and come up with a valid explanation at that. Because like hell am I going to tell them whatever the truth may be as much as it scares me that it might _be_ the truth.

I just wish I wasn't freaking out. It was just one stupid kiss. Think, why would Gale do this? Why? Is it part of his strategy or does he legitimately feel something for this girl from District 4, this Havana? Oh how I wish I had made him tell me his strategy and plans now. I was trying to just let him do his thing because I knew that plans could change once he saw the actual tributes, but would he go this far just for a strategy, just for sponsors?

Of course he would; this is Gale Hawthorne, after all. This is the same boy who caught himself in my snare and then his own when I was ten just to prove that his worked better than mine, giving himself a very swollen ankle in the process (from his own snare he pointed out naturally, the stubborn competitive boy he is). So of course he would kiss a girl in front of the entirety of Panem just to get more sponsors. For an arena that is a life or death situation literally, what's one little public display of affection when it could mean you live from a gift? I mean it's not likely being in the alliance and one of the most skilled if not the most skilled tribute will have many uses for a gift that could make that much of a difference in his chances of living or winning for that matter, but sometimes sponsors can indirectly choose the winner. I can't tell you how many times someone should have died and because they had good sponsors they lived, some even proceeding to become the Victor of their respective Hunger Games. I mean look at Finnick Odair who won at the tender age of fourteen, one of the youngest Victor's in history (the youngest was fourteen too, just four months younger than Finnick was in case you wanted to get specific) wanted for nothing in his Hunger Games. And his golden trident that he won with from his good looks no doubt that got him all the sponsors made the difference for him. So maybe Gale is just doing this for the extra push, maybe if there isn't a bow or something Jay will send him that.

That's it, all I have to do is think rationally. He's just kissing Havana for sponsors, he doesn't feel anything for her other than perhaps strategically to make it believable. He doesn't actually like Glimmer (despite all the rumors and gossip flying not to mention Glimmer's own innuendo's that seem to point to that), he was simply trying to make her jealous by kissing Havana when she so clearly thought that he was coming for her. Think like Gale, Katniss, you know how he thinks. Why would he do this?

Maybe Glimmer was trying to use him for her own strategy, to get further in the Games. Perhaps she even thought that Gale would be so infactuated with her that he couldn't kill her in the end, or wouldn't see it coming that she was coming for him. Maybe she was just going into it so that she could flirt her way to doing nothing most of the time in the arena and he would do it all for her. Or maybe she simply wanted him, the good looking guy that he is. Any of these could be true (and her interview would certainly prove some of those guesses right), and maybe Gale caught on. He could have just done it to get the upperhand, have Glimmer where _he_ wanted her. Maybe Havana was simply to get them both where he wanted them.

The more I think about it, the more rational my brain becomes, I can see that I probably am right in this assessment. After all, I do know Gale best. He just threw me for a loop because I didn't know his strategy, haven't seen or heard from him in days. I'm just missing him so much and it just took me by surprise that I didn't know how to react. Yeah, that's it. He just took me by surprise.

Now for excusing my…behavior. I don't really know what to say to be honest other than I don't know why I acted that way. Mom will just take it the way she wants no matter what I say, she's pretty much said enough to me about that sort of stuff. And she'll use this as a great example for why she hates the Hunger Games and I should see how much it's affecting me, and don't I hate it? Of course I hate it mom, my best friend is gone and I miss him! But it doesn't mean I hate the Hunger Games. I still believe in them and in him, I just happen to not really like his strategy right now and not knowing what was coming. I don't really know what Dad will say to be honest, or Prim for that matter. Prim might not even try to talk at all about it and the only indication that she would acknowledge it might be a hug or something, because she'll know I don't want or can't explain it. Really I'm just hoping no one tells Hazelle because she already seems to know or think she knows everything about me and my stupid behavior and feelings. And something tells me that she's got a better grip on it than I do, and that frightens me. In more ways than one.

But really, there's nothing else much to do but go home and face the music so to speak for several reasons even though I still don't know what to say. For one, it's really dark out here, which wouldn't bother me usually but it just reminds me that I left the house during mandatory broadcasting, and I'd be in deep trouble if a peacekeeper happened to catch me outside at all let alone in the woods by the fence. For two, I really should get back and watch a few of the interviews more towards the end of the night, specifically Thresh and Peeta's. I'm still cursing myself for not looking at Thresh's information in Cato's big book of stalker secrets so maybe I can get something worthwhile from his interview. I really should have taken those notes he gave me whether I was pissed or not.

And though I know I need to go back in my house, I stand frozen at the front door with my hand on the doorknob, fighting my instincts to run and not face my irrational actions aftermath. But eventually I make myself count down from ten and open the door, feeling the eyes of all my family members facing the front door even though they can't see it.

I don't meet any of their eyes as I come in and take my unofficially assigned seat back on the left side of the couch beside my sister and curl up with a pillow in my arms, trying to focus back on the interviews. I don't recognize the boy that's on really but I think just from all my research that they're from six or seven, meaning I was gone probably fifteen minutes or so. Not surprising really, but I'm cursing myself for missing District 4's interviews, especially Havana's after Gale's little…stunt. But I'm assuming that they will be replaying that and her interview later in the highlights which means another late night for me watching television after everyone else goes to bed. Oh well, who needs school anyway? It's not like it's really important to be paying too much attention when I'll be on that television doing an interview with Caeser in a year from now anyway.

I'm thrilled that no one immediately asks me about my stupid reaction, but I know it's coming, more likely than not as soon as the interviews have concluded. The boy on finishes his interview and the cameras follow the boy down the stage for a second before paning to what must be there best entertainment feature at the moment, quick glances at Glimmer, Gale, and Havana's faces as they pan over to the girl being called up by Caeser from District 8. Glimmer is sitting back down in her chair with her arms crossed, quite clearly trying (and pretty much failing) to seem like she's not fuming and vilely jealous. Gale seems cool and collected, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who could possibly catch that he's smug from his expression because I wouldn't if I didn't know him so well. Yes, that means he was just trying to get the upper hand! I really shouldn't be as happy about that as I am, but it certainly has the effect of making me feel calmer about the situation. Havana appears to be normal, but still blushing as the camera passes her and I just know her mind is still where mine seems to be even though that makes me somewhat mad again.

Oh Gale, what have you done to me? You're gone like two seconds and I'm here being irrational and thinking things I shouldn't be and acting like an obsessed fool with these Hunger Games.

I may not agree with mom on a whole lot, but she is right about one thing. Gale being gone has made me go crazy. Me. Being irrational and crazy.

He better get out of that arena alive just so I can hit him for doing this to me.

* * *

Gale's POV

Well that certainly couldn't have gone much better. It really wasn't too hard to go through with it once I was actually there, and Havana was so dumbstruck that she didn't really know how to react. Besides, no matter how I feel about PDA's, Glimmer's face was priceless and perfect. She was completely fuming; I could practically see steam coming out of her ears. And the daggers she was giving Havana and not me (though I was the one who probably deserved them) told me that she was jealous and somehow thought that Havana did this to her. She's being irrational because I did this on purpose and not to make her jealous in the way she thinks I was, but either way, irrational is where I want her to be.

I could hardly pay attention during the rest of the interviews because I had to focus on putting a mask on of just indifference or polite interest, but really I was seeing fireworks for my hopefully impending victory and complete smugness that wouldn't do good for the girls at least to see. I could honestly care less if the audience knows I'm playing both of them so that they're putty in my hands to mold as I wish, but I don't want them to catch on. Somehow I'm still going to have a find a way to hint to Katniss that this is all just a strategy if she actually cares, but she may have already. I think I'm doing a pretty good job of hiding my true feelings right now and when the camera is not so accidently going past Glimmer, Havana, and I every so often when a new tribute is called up I know I'm doing well. But Katniss knows me too well, and if I can see the hint of smugness in my eyes then I'm pretty sure she can too. But still, I'm going to come up with some way to make it more obvious to her. It may clue in the audience too, but really I don't care.

They also kept coming to me when Havana went up naturally, but Jay and I had seen this coming. In fact, that's what Marcellus shockingly enough helped with, which is the only reason he was clued in on my strategy this evening because otherwise I don't think Jay would have cared to tell him. Jay had been to the Capitol before and had been through trying to get sponsors himself obviously, but my strategy was nowhere near what his was or really any tribute aside from possibly Finnick in the past so we didn't know exactly what to do when the evident cameras came to me during Havana's interview since it was after mine and that kiss. And since it would be not so wise to go to the best source since he was a mentor for the said District I was bringing attention to, Marcellus was the best we had. So I did what he told me, to smile and pretend that it really was Havana that I liked, catching her eye when the camera came on me and making her blush. The audience seemed to love it and Glimmer's green monster tremendously, and I know that I just made myself part of not just my own, but several interviews. More attention, more attraction, more entertainment, meant more sponsors.

So after her interview I resumed my polite interest face while not paying attention at all really, more just assessing the reactions of the audience if they really had them at all. Red was kind of unforgettable and therefore I'm not actually worried about her officially in the arena, though I suspect that she'll be smart enough to at least make it past the bloodbath alive. Other than than, no one really did anything special or garnered much attention. Though I will admit much of that is my fault since it's kind of difficult to make much of an impression after the little show I gave the audience, but whatever. The first person to make any real impression after Havana is that little girl Rue. She made a seven which is a highly impressive score considering she reminds me of Prim who couldn't hurt a fly let alone handle a weapon, and on top of it she's adorable. Not quite as adorable as Posy, but I am pretty biased since she's my baby sister and all.

And after her is Thresh, who only makes an impression with his score and bulking mass. You would think that he would use those to attempt sponsors in this part of the game, but he really doesn't speak at all. In fact, when he even bothers to answer Caeser's questions (who is doing his damn best to fill the three minutes which has got to be at least slightly awkward for him considering it's almost a one sided conversation), he only says one word answers. Yes, no, sometimes…well, you get the point. Not very compelling in the least. Still, the kid will get sponsors just from being intimidating. Heck, even I would think about sponsoring him because even though I don't want him in our alliance (which Marvel brought up the last day of training but I shot down immediately, luckily with Clove's back up) because I don't trust him, he is a worthy competitor. And something tells me this kid will do just fine on his own.

The girl from Twelve is just slightly more talkative that Thresh, but doesn't make any impression just like training. She almost appears to me as someone that would just be knocked down by a gust of wind, and just from her interview I can sense that she knows she's going to die tomorrow in the bloodbath. District 12 is known for their bloodbaths after all, and it's the tributes they produce like her that keep that tradition alive. Her district partner, however, is the opposite of that tradition, or so it seems. He's likeable, talkative, and has great rapport with Caeser. And on top of it he received the same score as Glimmer and Slone in training, which I still don't understand. He may even get a few sponsors out of this. And as much as that annoys me (all of it really), I try not to let it affect me. This is my game, and no one is going to get in my way.

Luckily after him the interviews are over, which means as soon as I'm on the second floor I can stop pretending that I'm not doing flips in my head of how well my little stunt went over. So I leisurely follow the girl from three as we exit the theater and make a beeline to the elevator so neither girl that my stunt affected can talk to me before the arena tomorrow just to let it simmer in their minds. I know I'm being a little irrational thinking it will be better that way because there is a slight chance that they could figure out the true reasoning behind it giving them time (and others that could tell them if they figure it out), but _I_ don't want to talk about it yet. I know it's inevitable, but I'd rather leave it for when I know there's an audience watching so I don't say something stupid without thinking about it.

Entering the elevator quickly as I follow in the tributes from District 3, I find Glimmer standing by the elevator so clearly waiting for me but Clove follows me in and like lightening pushes the close button, leaving Glimmer out there fuming no doubt and wondering if Clove is in on it too. It's so funny that I have to suppress a laugh because there are other tributes in here, but luckily Clove and I are the first floor off so it opens and once the doors are shut again, I don't bother hiding it anymore.

I crack up laughing and I hear Clove join me, happy that we are the first ones back. I don't really know if she told Fangula about my own plans that she of course knows about, but I'm kind of hoping not. Eventually I die down and smirk how I've been wanting to since the interviews began, and she just looks at me and shakes her head.

"Well Hawthorne, when you want to get something done you sure commit." She smirks, clearly enjoying it almost as much as I am.

"What, didn't you see it coming?" I question her, not really being serious.

"Not that." She informs me, and it's actually sincere so my eyebrows raise.

"Really?" I ask, surprised. I had thought she had figured it out or someone told her. Maybe she even eavesdropped on Marcellus or Plumagi since both of them definitely knew. I had just assumed she knew all I guess.

"Nope." She exclaims, snorting. "I thought you were just going to say something about Glimmer, not make her green with envy. I had almost forgotten about Havana's infatuation."

"Well you know, all for the show." I grin, somehow liking that I can surprise and impress Clove still. It's certainly good for the upcoming future, though probably not really for the first few days at least. Besides, I wouldn't want her guessing all my strategies or plans because I haven't quite figured out exactly when I want to break off the alliance though I do know how I'd like to start that. It really will depend on the arena which I won't know about for another twelve hours or so.

She shakes her head, but seems to like my answer. "Well you're going to make camp a lot more dramatic, that's for sure."

"Do you really mind?" I ask her, more curious than anything. I didn't think she would, but you never know.

"Oh I'll get annoyed by it for sure, but I'm mostly going to be entertained by it myself." She informs me, a wicked little grin on her face that tells me she's not saying everything. Oh great, strategic secretive Clove is back. I can't say I really missed her at the moment.

"I didn't think you were interested in jealous girls." I comment, because it's true. In fact, Clove has never really shown much interest in love, more just focusing completely on being a tribute and believing she didn't have time for such things, even no commitment fun like I like to do in my spare time. Sort of like someone else I know…

"I'm not really." She confirms, but just smiles and starts backing up from me as the elevator dings which indicates the rest of our floor has arrived. "But I am interested in what _you're_ going to do, and whether you fuck it up."

Oh, right. That. I should have known that's what she was talking about. But if she thinks I'm going to fuck this up she doesn't know me as well as she thinks she does. I can handle more than one girl at a time. I've become skilled over the years at keeping girls close enough to do stuff with but far enough away to avoid commitment, I think I can handle two jealous girls. Besides, I've already thought of what to do about Glimmer in that case anyway.

"I'm not going to fuck up handling them." I promise her, rolling my eyes. But she gets that little grin on her face again as we hear voices and comes back closer to me quickly, lowering her voice so that the others can't hear.

"No, I can't wait to see you fuck up your 'friend' at home." She smiles before walking away, leaving me frozen in place in the hall and cursing myself and her. Shit, she knows that I like Katniss? And that I'm doing this anyway? Or is she saying that Katniss will be fucked up by it indicating that _she_ may like me? Or that Clove is going to win and see the effects of it? All of it maybe?

Crap, Clove is making me question my own strategies after I triggered them, making me irrational. The mind games have already started it seems. Well played, Clove, well played.

Guess that makes it my move.


	13. Focus

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear._

_-Brian Tracy_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Gale's POV

"Get up!" a voice demands and I groan thinking it's too early. But then I remember that I'm supposed to be waking up at dawn for the Hunger Games and that the voice telling me to I shouldn't argue with. I mean why would I argue, this is what I've been waiting for practically my whole life. The arena.

So I obey the voice and open my eyes, instantly confused again as I see the person disturbing my much needed sleep. Shaking my head I look to the bedside table for the clock, and find that it's four sixteen in the morning. At least two hours before I have to get up.

"What is it Jay?" I question him groggily, sitting up in my bed. I'm less than enthused to be woken up at this hour, but I know Jay has his reasons. He knows as well as I do that I need my sleep in a real bed before I'm sleeping on the ground for the next however many days, maybe even better than I do. After all, he went through this himself about fifteen years ago.

"Where's the notebook?" he questions me seriously, and I really want to glare at him but I'm too tired to do it. Really? That's why he's woken me up in the middle of the night? Is it really that important?

"Under the bed." I inform him, just wanting to go back to sleep.

"Well get it." He demands and this time I roll my eyes but comply, a little more awake in my annoyance for my crazy mentor. So with a heavy sigh I force myself to push away the soft warm covers and crouch down by the side of the bed, lifting the mattress just enough to feel around for the telltale sign of the notebook hidden there. Once I find it half blindly, I pull it out and just stand up holding it.

"What's so important about it?" I question him, somewhere in my haze of waking thinking that he wants to read it now. What, now he's curious what my notes say two hours before I leave for the arena? If he just wanted to know where it was it wouldn't have been that hard to find after I was gone.

"You know everything in it?" he asks me, ignoring my own question. I sigh in response but nod.

"Enough." I tell him truthfully. It's impossible to memorize everything but I'm hoping a lot of what I wrote in there won't matter. And what I do remember is far too important for forget anyway. Besides, even with these notes a lot is going to ride on what happens pretty much within the first few hours, like what the arena is like and the bloodbath. And of course if I can actually convince the alliance to take on a boy from District 3 that they don't think has any value.

"Good." He nods back and takes it out of my hand and walks off with it, determined. I don't know if I'm just half asleep still or confused, but all I do is watch him as he goes across the room. It isn't until he tosses it into the fireplace where the cackling of the burning fire begins disintegrating all my hard work that I actually look at him like the crazy man he is.

"What the hell did you do that for?" I question him, eyes wide as I go over to where he's still standing by the fire, making certain the thing is no more than ashes. Arms crossed and seeming satisfied and far more awake than I'll ever be at four in the morning, he smiles down at his destruction.

"Wouldn't want Fangula finding this, now would we?" he explains, and I really want to roll my eyes because that may be taking things too far to think she'd go looking for my notes, but he does have a valid point.

"Yeah, I guess." I concede. Though I really don't know why it was necessary to do this _now_. Why didn't he tell me before? Like you know, when I was actually awake and could think rationally without the haze of sleep and the ungodly hour messing with my head.

But I'm not really in the mood for talking for several reasons, and Jay doesn't seem to be either. And since he doesn't seem to be leaving any time soon I'd feel kind of awkward trying to go back to sleep again with Jay in the room just standing there, so I stay there with him. So there the two of us are in silence, watching the last of my notebook disintegrate in the low burning flames. They're almost mesmerizing, and I find myself getting lost in the licks of the flames that seem to dance and glow bright in the darkness of the room.

"Are you sure you want to go there, Gale?" he asks me in a low voice, almost…guarded. It takes me by surprise. It's not the question that bothers me, it's his tone. He seems…protective somehow. It's a really strange concept though I suppose that's sort of what a mentor is supposed to do. But it's not Jay. At all.

"The arena?" I question him, almost scoffing. Well it's not like I have a choice at this point even if I was like the majority of the tributes who never wanted to be here. I did volunteer, after all. And I thought long and hard about it, not just for the glory of winning, or for my parents. I really thought hard one day in the woods about it when I was alone about three years ago, sitting there for hours. It's a lot to risk, the chance of dying. The odds of one in twenty four aren't good, even when you are the most skilled or one of the most skilled tributes. Anything can happen in an arena, and the best doesn't always win.

But in the end…I realized that I was doing this for me. Maybe to prove to myself that I was good enough, or somewhere in my subconscious I would be good enough for Katniss even though I didn't think about her that way at fifteen. But really, it's because I know myself. I have this untamed desire deep within me to cause destruction. It's dangerous and I hide it well, but something in me has been calling for this. Like those wars that we had to read about in History class in school, where soldiers would go to battle for justice or glory, sometimes both. I always wanted it. And really, that's what terrifies me the most about myself.

"No, you're plan." He tells me, a deep frown on his face. "You know there's a fine line you're playing with here, with that District 3 boy and the girls too."

My mouth drops open at what he's saying, though I really don't know why I'm surprised he figured out my plan, or at least the gist of it. He must have either gotten that information from my notes or someone else somehow, perhaps even District 3's mentors, or he's just that damn smart. Maybe both. But what does it matter if he knows? In fact, won't that help me?

"I know." I find myself admitting. It is dangerous what I'm doing, and not only for sponsors or the audience let alone my reputation. It could be very dangerous to myself as well. Everything has to fall in place at the exact right time or I know I'm fucked.

"And yet you're still going to do it, aren't you?" he replies bitterly, seeming to be debating about something internally. I don't bother answering because he already knows the answer. It was rhetorical anyway.

"Remember what I said about regrets?" he eventually asks me, and I quirk an eyebrow at him though he's not looking at me.

"Yeah." I reply, not knowing where he's going with this. Or maybe I do. But does he really want me to play this safe? In all honesty, I think it's too late for safe. I've already set myself on a path of sure destruction, and the only thing left for me to do is make sure that I don't destroy myself in the process. That I would really regret.

"Did you take my advice then about your friend?" he asks me, going in a different direction than I thought he would.

"Sort of." I shrug. It's far more complicated than he makes it out to be. I mean Katniss is not someone you can just jump into something like that with, especially when I'm literally going off to a possible death. If I had tried to kiss her there's a ninety percent chance the girl would have punched me in the face right then and there. "It's complicated with her."

"Did you think about her when you started this plan?" he questions me, seeming to understand that it's complicated. He doesn't really know Katniss that well aside from what he's seen of us together, but Jay is very intuitive. He probably knows just from his creepy observations that she's complicated when it comes to stuff like that.

"Yeah." I admit guiltily. I didn't know if she'd like it or hate it or even care at all, but the plan just sort of came out of what needed to be done at the time. And while I'd hope she wouldn't hate me, this is Katniss. She might hate me for just not telling her the truth in the first place. "But what choice do I have?"

"None." He declares in agreement, and then smiles wryly at me. "You sure know how to play with fire, I'll give you that."

Playing with fire. Hmm, I suppose that is a good way to put it. "Guess I do." I half smile at him. It would be incredibly funny if it wasn't this kind of situation.

"Two things then, and I'll let you go back to sleep." He tells me, holding up two fingers. "One, if you're playing with fire, just make sure you're not going to get burned. I can help you with some things but not everything, so much of it is up to you." Jay explains first, and I nod in agreement. I guess not getting burned is sort of the point when you're trying to be the Victor, literally or figuratively. "And two; don't do anything you'll regret later. If you do make it out of there then you're going to have to deal with the consequences, and let me tell you; they're not going to be pretty."

"Right." I yawn, happy to go back to bed after this odd last meeting with my mentor before the arena. "Don't fuck up and think twice before doing anything."

"Good." He smiles, but he doesn't seem as content as I thought he'd be. Maybe it's just the fact that it's four in the morning and he wants to sleep too. So taking that as my cue I leave with Jay close behind me and crawl into the bed for another hour or so of much needed sleep. I'm about to close my eyes when Jay calls my name again and I open my eyes to find his outline by the door in the dim room.

"Kick ass in there. You're gonna do great." he tells me before closing the door and I find myself smiling. A vote of confidence from Jayant Tiber right before the arena; just what I needed even though it's a rare thing.

* * *

The next time I'm woken up seems far too early and I'm even more groggy than when I woke up just about two hours ago, but this is the wakeup call I had expected. Plumagi is turning on the lights in my room and without even bothering to make sure I'm getting out of bed throws some clothes on the comforter for me to change into, a simple black t-shirt and jeans. This isn't what I'll be wearing into the arena of course, just the clothes that I'll wear until I get them once I'm in my holding room essentially under the arena. So not bothering to make sure Plumagi isn't watching since she's seen it all multiple times anyway, I change out of my pajama bottoms and into the new clothes with her right there in the room. Well, at least she doesn't have her band of idiots with her today. I can handle her this early, but not my prep team. As much as I hate to say it they still freak me out a little.

Once I'm dressed she leads me to the elevator where we get off and suddenly I'm on the roof of the training center where there's a garden of sorts, the only place here in the Capitol I have seen proof of actual plant life, not just fake stuff. I wish I'd known about this roof sooner than this because I might have enjoyed spending a little time on my own here where it's as close to nature as I'd get here. But I have to remind myself that I'm probably getting my fill of nature starting in a few hours, so I force myself to stop longing for my woods and focus on following Plumagi to the hovercraft where it's hovering over the building with a ladder down for us.

My stylist gestures for me to go first and as soon as I'm on the ladder I'm frozen in place, some odd current almost keeping me glued to the ladder. I'd panic, but then I start thinking rationally. The hovercraft is kind of far up and they wouldn't want anyone slipping on the ladder on their way up. Besides, it doesn't hurt, it's just weird.

Eventually I'm up in the hovercraft but still stuck to it, which is explained by a young man with a frighteningly large needle in hand that tells me not to worry. Not to worry? Where the heck are you planning on putting that thing? But he tries to explain it's my tracker and with me still frozen on the ladder, easily slips the thing in me by the needle. I can't really feel pain because of whatever's freezing me I think, but just watching it go it makes me wince. And of course after he's done I'm let off the ladder and my hand automatically comes to rub my newly acquired wound so to speak. It's tender and it sure hurts now, but it's not that bad. Though I have a feeling rubbing it constantly isn't going to help any even if it's what I want to do.

"Come on Gale dear! You have to eat." Plumagi calls in a sort of singsong voice from behind me as the ladder unfreezes her (without a tracker being implanted of course) and doesn't wait for me to respond before pulling me to a table and pressing a button, food coming up much like my first lunch here in the Capitol from the table. I'm not really that hungry but I know I should eat, and once I take the first bite I have no problem finishing my plate of ham, eggs, toast, and bacon washing it down with water and orange juice.

I know District 2 has it better than most districts because I have had orange juice before (and I've heard from other tributes when I sort of eavesdropped on them all week most haven't had that let alone much else), but here it's much better than home. At home the only way I get orange juice is hunting for extra food that we don't have to give to Ryder or eat ourselves, make a trade at the black market in a restaurant's basement, bring it home to mom where she squeezes it with Vick or Posy's help and adds what little sugar we have to it. This is certainly not the same, as it is smooth and has the perfect balance of sugar and whatever else they may put in there. Even being from the best district, I can see the improvements that winning can get me. Things like this.

The whole ride takes about a half hour or so, of which most I can't see because they blackened the windows at some point so that I wouldn't get a glimpse of the arena before I was supposed to, in the sixty seconds we have to stand on our plates before we begin. Once I'd assume we're here, I follow Plumagi and the man that put in my tracker (which is still sore) out and we're in some sort of giant hovercraft dome I'd assume, once again making sure we don't see the arena.

Right, so this is it. Off to the prep room for an hour or two where I'll get ready and changed into my arena outfit and wait for the signal to get in the tube thing that will take me up to the arena. This is focus time. Focus on your strategies, focus on winning. Only think of everyone back home when you absolutely have to. You can think about them when you're on your way out of the arena.

Well, except for Katniss. Her I still have this irrational need to clue her in on the fact that the girls are just part of my strategy. If she hasn't figured it out already she will eventually, but I don't know how long that will take. At least a few days, maybe a week or more. Maybe she'll figure it out by my token. It doesn't really look like anything special, just a rock that's oddly almost shaped like an arrow with a piece of twine around it. To anyone else it would just be a rock, especially those from other districts that think all District 2 does is stone masonry since that's what they're taught in school. But to me and Katniss, it's special.

I was maybe thirteen when Katniss and I were finally allowed to go off in the woods by ourselves instead of our dads watching us constantly, so long as we stuck together. It was never going to be a problem, the sticking together part. I mean we were best friends and though neither of us would admit it, we weren't ever going to stray from each other. We may know the woods but that didn't mean we wanted to get lost alone on the off chance of something bad happening.

So we were on a trip that summer, maybe our fourth or fifth one just as a team, and walking through the woods silently. We weren't having much luck that day for whatever reason, maybe the odd muggy air that had come to our district from somewhere, but that was just our excuse. We kept thinking that maybe we did need our dads to do well in the woods and that we would never make it alone. So with that bitter feeling coming over us, we sat down by a little stream somewhere in the heart of the woods. Eventually we were just talking and skipping rocks when Katniss stopped and laughed, in awe at the rock in her hand.

"Look!" she exclaimed, holding up the thing for me in her hand, a rare smile gracing her face. Obeying her, I glanced down to her hand to find a damp rock that sort of looked like an arrow and gently took it from her hand, examining it closer.

"Think you could shoot anything with this, Catnip?" I teased her, grinning back. It was nice that we could still laugh about our failure thus far, though I didn't know how long I could keep up the jokes.

"Maybe." She smirked mysteriously, but then sighed, reality setting in. "Maybe I'd have more luck with that then real arrows."

"It's not like my snares are doing much better." I pointed out, knowing the way the conversation was turning.

"Maybe we do need our dads." She finally admitted out loud, though it killed both of us to do that. She found another rock without looking and sort of chucked it instead of skipping it, her anger taking over as she frowned. "Maybe we're not good hunting partners after all."

"You don't believe that." I shook my head at her, even though somewhere in me knew she was probably right. But I couldn't have her believing that because there was no way I was going crying back to daddy, the stubborn thirteen year old boy that I was.

And then I got a thought, just a random thought to make her have hope in us. Without informing her I took out my hunting knife and my ball of twine that I always kept in my pocket just in case we found a decent spot to set a new snare and cut off a little piece of it, tying it around the arrow rock before holding it up to her with a grin. "There."

"There what?" she questioned me, her gaze still on the rock that was now wrapped in twine.

"Arrows and snares, the perfect combination." I told her, handing it to her. "Just like our dads."

"You think?" she asked me, her big grey childlike eyes still questioning my own hardening ones except when I was out here, with her.

"I know." I told her confidently before helping her up, a new drive to my step.

That was the day we started doing well as a team of hunting partners, somehow managing to get even more than our fathers that day. We never flat out said that the rock wrapped in twine was our sort of good luck charm, but we both thought it. From that day forward we left it in the woods in a small abandoned hole in a tree that must have belonged to some animals at one point, only going to check on it every once in a while when we were having a bad day.

I didn't tell her that I took it for my token. In fact, unless she went to check since I left a week ago (or if it really is a good luck charm and her hunting has sucked), I don't think she would have noticed it missing. But I know as soon as she gets a good glimpse of it on the television screen she'll know exactly what it is, and maybe she'll make the connection that I'm doing this in part to get back to her, no matter what I do here in the arena. My own little good luck charm that's just our secret.

I don't show Plumagi it though, quietly transferring it from the jeans she gave me this morning to the pocket of the heavy black jacket she helps me into for the arena and zip it up securely, never wanting to lose this token. In fact, I think the only place I'll reveal it is when I'm alone and not with other tributes, especially Clove. I don't really know what her mind games are or how much she actually knows, but she does know that Katniss and I are hunting partners. It's supposed to be a secret but I'm pretty sure more people than I'd like to have that knowledge know at the Academy. Even if I don't think that they'd think anything of it aside from extra training, I don't want to give Clove the opportunity to guess that my token has something to do with Katniss and tell everyone else. Not exactly good for my strategies at camp.

"Drink up." Plumagi insists, almost shoving a big glass of water in my hand as I wait on the pristine white couch in the room that will only ever be used by me. I don't bother protesting because even though it isn't likely I'll have a problem getting water or food, it can't hurt. Besides, it's a pretty good guess that I'll be exerting a whole lot of energy at the bloodbath so I could use the water to keep hydrated. Not like you're going to stop for water in the middle of that if you get thirsty.

Eventually the call comes that I have thirty seconds to get in the tube and I stand up immediately, sort of jumping up and down to get my limbs moving. Finally it's time. What I've been waiting for, the arena. Time to give my district, my family and my friends some pride. We haven't had a Victor in five years, and it's high time we have another. And I have every intention of that Victor being me.

The last thing I see of the prep room is Plumagi's purple glittery head smiling and bobbing like she's excited as she mouths good luck to me through the tube though I can't hear her, and I give her a nod and smile back. I take the twenty seconds or so that I'm in the dark to compose myself into the tribute I want the audience and other tributes to see. Ready for action, focused, and on my game.

It takes a second for my eyes to adjust to the light, but once I do I don't bother to assess where I am in the circle around the golden cornucopia and instead instantly take a glance at the arena, one of the few things I didn't know about and couldn't control. Directly in front of me is a sort of giant wheat field, which isn't really helpful except maybe for food if there is any. To my left is a giant pristine blue lake which I couldn't be happier for since our alliance will make camp here, and I sort of half hope that it's the only water source because it would mean tributes would need to come to us. To my right and I think behind me are woods. Lots and lots of woods.

They don't look exactly like the woods back home but they're similar enough, and I inwardly smile to myself. It's perfect. I'm guessing that's where most of the tributes that don't try and make it past the bloodbath going for supplies and weapons will run in there, which is just fine by me. I can track them in there, maybe even easily since I doubt most of them know how to cover their tracks efficiently if they realize they should at all.

Which reminds me, the supplies and weapons. My eyes go past most of the supplies since I know whatever is in the vast majority of them I can look at later and go straight to the weapons. There seems to be a little of everything, the bigger and badder weapons near or at the heart of the cornucopia. And right there in the center is a shiny silver glory; a set of arrows in a quiver with a silver bow to match, just like the ones I used at the training center.

Smiling to myself and positioning my body to sprint straight to it, I know that this is my game. I have sponsors, a good arena, my weapon of choice, and my lucky charm hidden in my pocket. What could possibly go wrong?

5

4

3

2

1


	14. Anxiety

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_There's an insecure part of me that comes out of me, I get nervous. I don't know why, I wish I could overcome it because it gives me an anxiety feeling.-Fred Durst_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Katniss's POV

You'd think I'd be ecstatic today. My best friend of most of my life has volunteered to be a tribute in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, he is tied as one of the top scorers in training, and it appears that his sponsor numbers are through the roof. Everyone seems jealous that I know a tribute so well; they put me right up there with his family when looking for someone to ask about him. And I am excited in a way, a bubbling anxiety that also makes me almost giddy, knowing tributes so personally that are currently on the screen I'm watching in the town square right up front behind the Hawthornes, enraptured by the countdown since we (the audience) had a thorough look at the arena in the last hour, the same as it is revealed to the mentors in their Mentor Room. I have a front seat, it's my best friend, and I am happy for him.

I'm also sixteen years old and I'm fairly certain in the last ten minutes I've been close to dying from a heart attack at least a half dozen times.

The first I'm certain was just nervousness, because it came in the last twenty seconds or so of the countdown. I know it's not really rational or fair to have Gale on the screen the entire time, but every time the camera went away from him I had a mini panic attack. The first time he was on the screen was about twelve seconds into the countdown, and he seemed to be taking in the arena first. They didn't stay on him for long but that one was alright, because I knew what he was doing. I also knew that he'd be pleased with the arena that he was placed in. Aside from the wheat field or whatever it is, the large lake near the cornucopia when the alliance should make their camp and the best of all, the forest similar to ours here at home can only help him. The second time they viewed him was at six on the countdown, and he was aiming right for the heart of the cornucopia as far as I can tell, straight to the beautiful Gamemaker sent bow and arrow set gleaming silver in the sunlight that had to be meant for him and him alone. There's not always a bow in the arena but there is now, and I get a small sense of pride when I realize that it's because of my father and mostly me that he's so good with one. But then I panicked when I realized that this is real, and anything can happen on his way to that bow.

He sprinted for it as soon as the gong rang as far as I could tell from the aerial view of what was in about thirty seconds going to begin the bloodbath, and even as who I think is Clove and Slone, the guy from District 4, pick up the nearest weapons to them, Clove undoubtedly knives and Slone I think a dagger of some sort as they begin the bloodbath. Clove ends up with the first kill of the Games; it's one of the boys I don't really recognize that was stooping down for a backpack and ended up with a knife to the spinal cord just like Clove would have been aiming for, falling to the ground in a crumbling slowly forming pool of his own blood.

Finally the screen flits to Gale, who is nearing the Cornucopia just as Marvel does, and I breathe a sigh of relief as Marvel covers him for just a second so that he can put the quiver on his back and nock an arrow, aiming quickly for a target. This is when my second heart attack comes, when some sort of large rock comes flying at him and only misses him by a few inches from his side. He seems surprised by it to me but as far as I can tell everyone else thinks that he's not fazed by it, and he turns around to find Thresh with another rock in hand (where the hell did he get those? Just picked them off from the ground somewhere?), aiming. And Gale hesitates to shoot him, just watching him with his arrow nocked for a second. What the hell are you doing?! Shoot him you dumb boy!

I glare daggers at him from the screen but he doesn't listen to the threats I'm sending him, and stands there. I can't decide if I'm angrier or panicked over this development, but soon I'm relieved. Because Havana, the damn girl that he kissed just last night has distracted Thresh for just a second and Gale gets away. Still don't know why he's not killing Thresh who is undoubtedly one of the biggest opponents in the Games, but maybe he feels that someone else will get him. It…just doesn't sit right with me though. And it's frustrating as hell that I don't have a freaking clue what he's playing at. But I can't go yelling at him here in the middle of the District square, so I resort to biting my lip and crossing my arms over my chest, allowing my fingernails to dig into my skin as I watch in a forced silence.

The bloodbath continues, sometimes a tribute getting a supply or knife, but a lot of the time it seems that they are either becoming a victim of the bloodbath or going to be very soon. One of the girls from a district, I think ten, is stupid enough to lunge as she thinks a spear from Marvel's hands is about to hit her and she crawls for supplies only to fall over in a gasping pain as the spear that didn't leave Marvel's hands impales her body, right in her stomach near where her ribs would start. Marvel jogs over keeping away of his surroundings and pulls the now bloodied spear out of her, apparently deciding that she's good as dead and moves on.

The next screen is one that I almost freeze for a second, because it's a boy with an arrow in his neck, shining silver as he chokes and tumbles over with the backpack that was in his hands landing on top of him and then rolling off. I don't think that there's more than one bow in that arena, which means this is Gale's. His first kill I'd assume since they usually show all of them, or at least try to. I don't get a very good look at the kid before they go to Gale's face which has a bit of a small smirk on it as he loads another arrow from his relatively safe position at the opening of the cornucopia, but I know the kid had reddish hair. There's only two districts I know of that produce kids with red hair, four and five, and since it's not exactly the smartest move to kill off someone in your own alliance in the bloodbath, I'm going to go ahead and assume that it's the District 5 boy.

They span off Gale again and I want to yell at the screens to go back to him because I really need to see him for whatever reason, but I know I'm being irrational. There are…were twenty three other tributes to look at too and this is the bloodbath after all, so they have to try and catch everything. I really should not be panicking though because if he's not on the screen, there's a ninety eight percent chance that he's totally fine. They wouldn't want to miss any of the 'action' or 'blood' after all.

And that does calm me down for at least two minutes as they show everyone else, Glimmer sort of half chasing a girl with a knife in hand or Havana puncturing someone with a spear. And then they come back to Gale, who still has his arrow nocked, now in the direction of where Slone is fighting one of the bigger tributes, I think the one from District 7. He's hesitating to shoot though, clearly not wanting to hit Slone on accident. He's amazing with a bow but his accuracy nor aim is as good as mine, so that I understand. What I don't understand is when he lets out a cry of pain because I'm looking at Slone and not him, and the camera goes to a full body shot of him to find a knife embedded in his calf.

And so commences the third, fourth, and fifth heart attacks of the last few minutes. I want to cry out for him like Hazelle and Posy are doing, I want to yell advice to him though I know he can't hear it like Rory's doing. Instead, I can't breathe, just staring in a panic that has gripped me in it's cold, numb hands. Calm down Katniss, it's not fatal. It's just his leg, but now I myself want to kill the person that did this to him.

The tribute is on the ground by his feet with a wound in her stomach that's bleeding out even as she keeps her hand on it. I don't recognize the tribute, but it appears that whoever wounded her left her be to die. Well she's got some drive to make a difference in this game even as she's in the process of dying, because I can see from the blood trail that she dragged herself over about five feet just to stab Gale in the leg, the only place she could reach. I can't believe he didn't see or hear or even sense her coming. Idiot, I want to strangle you. Now you're hurt the first day.

Gale looks down to the tribute dying at his feet and then his knife wound, wincing a little as he pulls it out of his leg and sets down his bow for a second, crouching down (though that must hurt his wound terribly) and the girl gives him desperate eyes, clearly pleading for death. Ah so this was her game. She wants the suffering to end. Well she didn't have to hurt him to do that!

He takes one look at her desperate cry and nods almost, taking the knife as she closes her eyes. He slits her throat easily, almost like it's butter and stands up trying not to show his pain, tucking the knife in his belt bloodied and all and picking up his nocked bow again like nothing happened. The screen goes off him again but I'm not convinced that he's alright, and I wish it was feasible for him to go wash it off or even better treat it right now, but I know he can't. Even with a superior weapon and a relatively safe place to stand, he got hurt. And this is the bloodbath.

If I think I'm having heart attacks now, I know it's nothing compared to what could happen later. Maybe my mom is right though I can't believe I'm thinking it. It really, really sucks to have my best friend in the Hunger Games sometimes.

* * *

"Alright kids, back to school." Marc insists after the bloodbath is over and the screens have gone to analyzing the last hour and a half, giddy with excitement over the kills. Ten kills in the bloodbath. Not bad at all. The ten cannons going off signaled to the tributes that the bloodbath is over, but also to the audience that it's back to work. Normally I'd not protest this because while I'm not a huge fan of school I'm not a huge fan of getting in trouble for missing it either, but I didn't catch all the information I need for this bloodbath. Granted I could try and watch it later, but I have a few hours of training right after class when they would be showing this stuff again before the mandatory broadcasting tonight.

"Aw but why?" Rory protests for me, kicking the ground at his feet. In a way he's similar to me I'd imagine in not wanting to miss anything on his brother, but I'm not going to be a baby about it. Besides, while they treat me like family, Hazelle and Marc are not my parents.

"Because you have to go to school young man. Your brother will be on later, I promise." Marc exclaims with that dad look in his eyes 'do what I say or you're in big trouble'. Rory mumbles something under his breath but sighs and nods meekly, giving in to his parents' wishes.

I fall in step with them even though I don't go to the same school as the Hawthornes but it's on my way there for most of the walk, catching up to Rory.

"Hey think of it this way. You're going to be the most popular kid at school today." I try and make him feel better. He looks up at me and grins, thinking of how he's going to love basking in the spotlight. And while I guess that could apply to me as well, I don't really care for the spotlight at the moment. All I want is to ditch the Hawthornes and go to school, get my attendance in class just so I can sneak out from my seat in the back of the room while she's not looking and go somewhere to watch the recap of the bloodbath. It's not the best plan but I don't have a ton of other options if I don't want to get in big trouble with the peacekeepers for skipping school.

"Yeah, I guess so." He tries to reply bitterly, but I can tell its failing. While he may want to watch the attention will easily get him through the next few hours of school. Besides, Rory is only thirteen years old. What more could he wish for at that age when it comes to the Hunger Games?

He catches up to his brother and sister and starts talking excitedly about the bloodbath while I stay a step behind them, lost in my own world. When it comes to the point where I will have to part with them they wave goodbye and walk off. Well…all but Hazelle. Crap, should have seen this coming. I really do walk right into the fire sometimes.

"Would you like to come over later to watch the broadcast? I was going to ask your mother later too." She questions me, and I think it over for a second before I nod.

"Sure." I give her a half smile, though I really don't want to. My family was pretty good about not questioning my irrational behavior last night aside from the knowing almost smirk on my mother's face that was gracing her face every time I got a peek at it from my brooding spot on the couch, but something tells me Hazelle will not just let something like that slide. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if my mother already told her. And if I were to do it again if say, Gale goes and kisses one of those girls in the freaking arena…well, I'm in trouble for my behavior and not in the go to jail because you skipped school kind of way.

"Good." She smiles, and comes up to me, putting her hands on my shoulders. I avoid her gaze for a moment but then I realize that I'm not going to get away until I face her, and brave myself to look up. Her expression is one of understanding and almost…compassion. Oh great, this is exactly what I didn't want to face.

She takes one of her hands off my shoulder and it comes comfortingly to my cheek, and even if I could talk I don't think I would. Her small smile graces her face and her head shakes gently, sighing almost inaudibly.

"I don't know what my boy is doing, but please remember something." She tells me, and my breath catches in my throat. "No matter what he says or does, he's doing it to come back to us. To come back to you."

But…I…what? Come back to me? What is that supposed to mean? Did he tell her his plans? Did he tell her before he left that he was going to ask me to kiss him? Or does she think I did it, or wanted to, or…I've really got to stop looking panicked and guilty, because it's only aiding Hazelle's theory whatever that is.

"I…" I try to speak, but can't seem to. She seems to understand and gives me a warm smile in return to my baffledness.

"I know dear." She says before letting my cheek go. "I'll see you later."

Well if it wasn't my intention to go to class late, it's certainly going to happen now. Because I'm frozen in place, replaying everything over and over. Gale, kissing Havana and Glimmer's flirting with him yesterday resulting in me fleeting the living room for the woods. The bloodbath today where Gale killed two tributes, not bad at all considering only ten died. And this conversation with Hazelle, her expression and words repeating themselves louder and louder in my head, screaming at me to get something. But all I can really think is she knows what?

Eventually I sigh and start running for the school building about a half mile away, hoping I can at least not be too late for school. This is going to be a long, _long_ Games.

* * *

Gale's POV

"How many kills did you get?" Clove questions me as I'm sitting on the ground by the lake wrapping up my calf with the first medical pack I could find. God, why didn't I see that girl coming? Stupid of me, really. And I call myself a hunter. Ha, what an idiot I am. A hunter couldn't figure out a dying girl was limping towards him with the intention to stab him. Granted, I have a feeling it was just to get my attention so that I would take her pain away, but there are less harmful ways to do that.

"Two." I tell her, because it's the truth. I did harm a third, I think the boy from District 6, but it was just to help out Havana as she took him down herself. Just to give her an edge because it wasn't fair for me to take all the kills though I could have done it. Part of my strategy to make up for the really shitty things I plan on doing later I suppose. Clove tries to see if I'm lying and when she's satisfied I'm not, she nods.

"Three." She replies proudly, glancing down and her eyes asking the question all five of them have been wanting to ask since the bloodbath ended and we gathered. I'll tell her eventually, but for now I decide it can wait. The rest are gathering supplies and weapons right now but I had to take care of this right away since it happened maybe two hours ago. Most of the blood had stopped pouring out but I knew from Mrs. Everdeen that keeping a wound open and exposed for too long no matter how small could end fatally if it got an infection. So I cleaned it out right away with the water at the lake when it looked safe enough and put medicine on it, now finishing wrapping it up in gauze.

"So that's five for the two of us. Who got the other half?" I question her instead of answering, knowing she's been going around asking. I don't know why it's so important for her to know other than sheer curiosity, but it's Clove. She could always try to see if someone could prove their worth out of this I suppose.

"Marvel got two, Havana and Glimmer each got one." She informs me, seeming bitter about something. "Slone almost got the District 7 boy but he got away with just a wound in his arm with the help of some other guy. I think Thresh ended up killing the last one."

Oh the District 7 boy. The one I was trying to help when that girl stabbed me. I feel bad that I couldn't help Slone but as far as I can tell he didn't get too hurt by that fight at least. Besides, he's only fifteen and while it was only a boy from Seven, I think the kid is eighteen like me. A three year age difference can certainly prove a challenge, even if you are the more skilled tribute. And Thresh killed the last tribute? I guess it would make sense training score wise, but I had though that Thresh wasn't going to play that game. I assumed that he was going to go hide somewhere for most of the Games and only kill the necessary amount of tributes as his strategy. Oh well, guess you learn something new every day.

"Where'd Thresh go?" I question her, knowing that if he ran then he has supplies and a weapon. I wasn't really paying too much attention, but I did see that he had a rather large pack and a scythe in his hand. I have no clue why he didn't use the scythe on me, but he's probably wondering the same about why I didn't immediately shoot him with my nocked arrow. All part of the strategy for me, I don't know about him. I'm making up for things I'm going to do in the future by acting like I'm playing a fair game. When in reality…my game is anything but fair.

"I didn't see, but Havana swears that he went to the grain field and disappeared in there." She tells me and I shrug.

"Makes sense I guess." I comment. District 11, agriculture. I'd even bet that he knows some of those grains in there, maybe even the ones that are edible. And his name is Thresh for god's sake. If that isn't a sign that someone in his family if not himself worked in a grain field at some point, I don't know what is.

"Yeah." She nods, looking around to some kind of commotion. "Hey, what's that?"

I glance to where she's pointing and find all eyes of our alliance trained on a bush where a dark, scared head is popping out, almost visibly shaking from here. Shit, almost forgot about him. Now I remember that I told him to stay close to us until the bloodbath is over, but he should have known to not show his face until I was up and going about.

I awkwardly get up and shout to my alliance who are quickly gathering their weapons in the obvious intent to kill him. No, I can't have this! I need that kid!

"Wait, wait, stop!" I tell them, forcing myself not to wince as I walk. God that fucking hurts. I'm going to need to find something to help with that if I'm going to be any help in chasing down tributes. But I can't have anyone else knowing that I'm in pain. "He's with me."

"He's what?" Marvel questions me with a suspicious look, everyone else seeming dumbstruck by this. I know this isn't really conventional, but hopefully they can just listen for one second and realize what a great idea it is. Well, until I decide it's a terrible idea anyway.

"Three here is here because I asked him to be." I start with, finding a scared but very relieved District 3 boy and five questioning 'this better be good' faces all on me. "He can keep our supplies safe."

"You think he's just going to…what? Be our guard?" Clove questions me, utterly confused. Ha, she probably thinks this is some sort of mind game like the one she started. Well guess what Clove, it's not. It's an actual strategy that I came up with (…well, okay, mostly 3 came up with but I saw the merits of it), not a mind game. Well, in the literal sense.

"Well sort of, but I think he should explain." I tell her, gesturing for the boy to explain his plan. But I still find Marvel's spear and a few daggers in his direction that are scaring the crap out the kid and sigh. "Put the weapons down so he can explain." I order while trying to not make it sound like an order. While I am for all intents and purposes the leader of this pack, I'm well aware from past games that a hard ass leader usually gets the bad end of the stick because the rest of the alliance takes them out eventually. And I have no room in my plan for that to happen. Besides, can't they see that they're scaring the boy into silence? It's not like he's going to get very far if he tries running away at this point anyway. He's practically at our mercy.

A few more glares go to the boy but in a moment the weapons hesitantly go down, and the boy gives me a look as if almost asking for permission and I give it to him with a nod.

"I know how to protect the supplies." He begins, quite clearly nervous as he fumbles with his jacket. Then it all sort of spills out as he tells his plan almost in one breath, quickly as if this could be his last chance to live. "I can get the mines that are around the plates to work again, I learned back home a similar method in school. All we have to do is dig them up and put all the supplies in a pile and I'll make a sort of maze out of the supplies and turn the mines back on so that you can leave them there and go off and hunt tributes without anyone being able to take the supplies. If they do then they'll be killed and not all the supplies will be lost because it will be in a maze so they won't get all the supplies."

He takes a breath and looks around sort of hopeful, the glares almost softening as the rest of the alliance thinks. I almost hold my breath too but I know that a word from me might convince them further.

"If we don't have to guard then it frees up a lot of our time." I tell them, letting that sink in. More free time, less guards, more hunting of tributes. And the faster we do that, the faster I can win this thing and go home.

There's silence that follows, but eventually Havana speaks up. "Fine. Let's get to work, kid."

I give her a winning smile as the rest of the alliance grumbles in acquiescence, and she blushes as she smiles back. Well didn't see that benefit of kissing her last night that she'd go with whatever I say. I glance to Glimmer and find her boiling mad again but only see her glare at Havana before half stomping off behind the rest of the alliance where Havana has sort of taken charge of this mission of sorts. Perfect.

I smile to myself at how well this is going so far and take a step in their direction with the intention to help and let myself wince a little at the burning pain beneath the gauze. It's getting better but I know it's still going to hurt like a bitch. But aside from that, the Games seem to be going my way for the most part so far.

Game on.


	15. Popular

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_Avoid popularity if you would have peace.-Abraham Lincoln_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Katniss's POV

The whole school is abuzz with the beginning of the Hunger Games I found out once I practically raced into my seat just as the final bell rang. Though I just barely made it to class on time, for once the teacher didn't seem to care. In fact, even she didn't seem in any hurry to begin our lessons for the day. Shows how important the Hunger Games is here if you ask me.

And as I predicted for Rory, I seem to be the center of attention which in a way makes me squirm. Though I've had the aspiration to be a tribute for years which I knew would mean being on television and in the spotlight, up to this point I didn't really have any desire for the popularity, especially in school. I know school is absolutely mandatory and should be important because we learn not just about our district and its workforce (we split our time between stone masonry that pretty much only people who live in the north part of the district end up doing, basics of the merits to going to peacekeeper training which many Academy students end up doing, and the very basics of what goes on in SIM since that's kind of on the down low), but really I prefer the woods or the Academy to being in school. After all, what's the point, especially now for me? I'm going to be a tribute next year and neither outcome for coming out of there is going to result in going back to school.

Aside from that obvious fact, I pretty much just keep to myself. I never really had a desire to make a lot of friends or even acquaintances outside of what I already have. I have my family, Gale and his family, and Rumi as a sort of friend. That's all I need anyway. But now, with my known best friend (and according to Cato many don't think that's all we are) on that television in the biggest event of the year in Panem and how he seems to be large and in charge there as well, all eyes are on me. I try not to look around but when I peek up through my lashes I can sense most of the class having a million questions on their lips, even the ones that call us Academy kids 'macis' or the ones that don't care. Great.

It's rather uncomfortable, this feeling. I'm inwardly squirming in my seat from the attention that the people in here so obviously want to shower on me when normally they'd be happy to just leave me be, but I don't show my discomfort. Instead, I actually pay attention to what the teacher is saying for once and take good notes, hoping these people desperate to get information from me will take the hint and do the same.

Of course it would help if the teacher actually cared today too, but apparently that's not going to happen either. Even she's half assing her lecture on the byproducts of stone. Not that I think she particularly cares about her teaching anyway, but especially today she doesn't. Of course not, I'm an idiot. She went to the Academy years ago so today is like a national holiday for her too. If I was going to bet, she'd be right there with the students asking me questions.

But luckily she's professional enough (or they have cameras in here watching her) to keep her on her task of teaching the class even though no one is really paying attention, and I feel like I'm going to have to sprint out of the class as soon as she gives us homework to go to my next class. But when she brightly announces to the class that our homework is to watch the Hunger Games tonight and report back on what type of landscape is used and how it can relate to District Two's landscape (a joke assignment compared to normal), as the bell rings I'm practically throwing my notebook and pen into my bag. But in my haste, my pen slips out of my hand and drifts away from me and I sigh. So much for that.

Like I thought would happen, I didn't even have time to get on the floor to go looking for my pen when it lands on my desk, a hand keeping it there until I look up to them.

"Thanks." I mumble, quickly taking the pen and carefully slipping it in my bag as I try to slink out, but of course that's not going to happen.

"So Katniss, did you see what happened there?" the guy who gave me my pen back questions me, and before I can even answer him or tell him that's a stupid question because it was mandatory to watch more questions are being fired at me.

"What's Gale doing with that District 3 kid?

"Why didn't he kill Thresh when he could?"

"Why didn't he kill more people?"

"Does he like Glimmer or Havana?"

"Is he playing some different kind of game here?"

"Stop!" I eventually yell to get the questions being fired at me from the surrounding circle now around me, blocking any exit I have. Luckily I'm either loud enough (or they're startled by my yelling) that they do, and I take a second to compose myself. I'm not getting out of here without answering something, I know that much. What bothers me most is that most of their questions I am asking myself because I don't know the answers. Actually I'm really disturbed that the question bugging me the most is that one about the girls. I really want to scream at the girl who asked that particular question that I don't know and don't want to know, but I do. I'm dying to know because it's bugging me. He wanted to kiss _me_, or so I thought, not them. Wait, what? No, don't let…jealously or whatever get to you, Katniss. You have enough problems as it is.

"I will answer your questions after school if you follow me to the Academy." I decide, knowing that I'm never going to get out of this since I have to be here six days a week but I might as well put it off as long as I can today as well as give myself a valid excuse to get away from them. "But _only_ if you don't ask me any more questions until then."

Nods and sighs of annoyance but understanding meet me after my insistence, and I finally make my way past the circle and can breathe. I really hope no one ends up following me, but I know they will. Crazy need to know all people.

Of course I realize I'm one of those people too, but at least it's my best friend I need to know about. I feel like that's a pretty good reason to go crazy if you ask me.

* * *

Practically slamming the door shut when I finally can at the Academy entrance, I gently bang my head against the door and groan. Geez, can't they leave me alone for like one second? Of course not, I'm basically their new gossip center. Not that I really gave them anything at all, the fifteen or so people that followed me like a bunch of crazed gossipers (much more than I had anticipated, especially since the Academy was in the opposite direction of all their homes).

Most of it I could only guess a bit better than them on what the heck Gale is doing, but sometimes if they insisted on an answer better than yes or no, sometimes I would make it up. Mostly because I'm running crazy theories through my head too. I mean, what the heck is he doing? I arguably know Gale Hawthorne better than anyone, and if I can't figure out some of what he's doing then no one else will be able to.

For instance, this Thresh thing or the District 3 kid. It's not like Gale to do something like either of those. I mean Thresh is quite obviously one of his biggest if not the biggest competitor. They both had a perfect chance to kill each other and didn't. So…what the hell gives? I mean Threash threw a rock at Gale, not a weapon (well…a real one anyway), and then they just stood there. Like…they were debating whether to actually fight or not! The Gale I know would not have hesitated to shoot an arrow at him, or since they were so close a knife. Something. Anything! Instead, it was like they had a…pack or deal or something, and were just making certain that they were both going to honor it now that they were in the arena.

From the beginning I knew Gale wouldn't want Thresh in the alliance even if the others did, and I must be right on that. But it doesn't mean that they don't have some sort of agreement with each other still. I find it hard to believe that Gale would with him, but apparently they do. Maybe Gale's just being cautious for once. I mean really it is a gamble with his life, and a fight with Thresh is probably inevitable. Maybe they're waiting for a while to do it, when things get slow or something for the audience. I don't really know, but that's the best I can come up with.

The District 3 kid I get more than the Thresh thing though. I know most people only see Gale as the womanizer or the Academy badass who has all the skills, but that's not the Gale I know. My best friend is someone who loves spending time with me or his family, who adores his younger siblings and would do anything for them just like I would with Prim. And while it's not normal for someone to do that sort of thing in the Games, especially someone in the alliance, Gale bringing that kid in I get. In fact, the kid has a similar build to Rory. I mean he's older and his hair and eye colors are wrong, but the District 3 kid is skinny, as if he doesn't get enough to eat. Maybe the kid even worked up the courage to present his plan to Gale in training or something and Gale found something in him that he liked. Actually, the plan to reactivate the mines and set them around the supplies is nothing short of brilliant, so even I can see the worth in it. What worries me is that the kid is not just going to do this for free, which means he either has a plan to destroy the supplies at some point or harm the alliance in some way. No matter how pathetic the kid looks, he is from District 3; they're known for their intelligence, so the kid is not dumb.

The only reason I'm not panicked about that is because if Gale took the kid on, he would have thought long and hard about it. Meaning he would have come to the same conclusion I just did and have some sort of plan to either kill the kid before that happens or prevent it from happening in the first place. Supplies are necessary, even if Gale could live in the woods because of all of our hunting skills. So they aren't really necessary for him, but they make the Games easier. And an easier Games in any way is a good thing.

"Look at that; you have crowds of followers and you haven't even gone to the arena yet." A voice from behind me teases, and I roll my eyes before turning around, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I can't get them away from me. They think I know everything just because my best friend is on television." I complain, not really knowing why I am. Normally I wouldn't, but this is Cato. He's teasing me only because he knows exactly why they are.

"Well I do think you know more than you let on." He predicts, smiling. I'm honestly surprised he's talking to me at all considering we have be avoiding each other since the…awkward kiss debacle several days ago. But whatever he's feeling now he's clearly putting behind him now, because he's acting pretty normal again.

"Funny, I thought you were the one with all the answers." I mutter, deciding I don't want to have this conversation wherever it's going to lead. I mean while I was the one who literally threw all the information in his face instead of taking it, he hasn't offered anything else to me. Actually, I would bet that he has even more now that the Games have actually started with his stalking hacker skills.

So I try to walk right past him but he stops me, a hand on my arm. Should have known that was coming. Sighing, I look up to him expectantly as he hasn't let go of my arm yet.

"I'm sorry. You know…for earlier." He begins, a bit awkwardly. "I crossed the line because I was confused, but I shouldn't have lured you in anyway."

"Oh." I half whisper, surprised by his apology. It even sounds sincere, and judging by how awkward he feels doing it I can tell apologies are not something he normally does. "It's…alright. I should have known too."

He snorts at that but doesn't comment. What's so funny about the fact I should have known it was coming? I feel myself narrowing my eyes at him and I'm about to demand an explanation but he doesn't let me.

"It's not like you're going to get away with much here either on the question front." He comments as he begins walking down the hall towards our class (where I highly suspect we're just going to watch the Games live instead of learning anything) and I reluctantly follow him just because I have to go there too. "If you think people at your school are bad because they know you and Gale are friends, it's nothing compared to here at the Academy."

I groan in frustration at that, but I know he's right. I'm sure it was what he was referring to when he mentioned earlier that no one knew exactly what Gale and I's relationship was, because aside from our families people here would see us together the most.

"Maybe I'll just tell them to ask you, since you seem to know more about everything surrounding the Hunger Games with your hacking skills." I suggest, warming up to the idea. Let him take all the questions.

He abruptly stops our walking by forcefully taking my arm and I'm startled by his reaction. He looks me directly in the eyes and for the first time I see…fear?

"Don't. No one can know I do that stuff or they'd throw me in jail or worse." He begs in a half whisper, and I'm so taken aback that I can't answer. Well geez, I didn't know it was that much of a big deal. Besides, he can always say that he got the book from Sullivan who got it from his dad so the blame should go on them. Well…I guess they sort of technically stole that hacking book so they'd all be in deep trouble. "Please Katniss."

"Alright, I won't say anything." I promise, and he searches my eyes for any indication that I'm lying before relaxing on his hold. I rub my arms where his hands had dug into them and pray there won't be bruises there before walking down the hall again in silence, all the way to our class.

When we get there I'm quick to assess that we are the last to arrive and the classroom is already dark, the substitute teacher instead of a Victor fumbling with a television as he tries to get it to work to get the live feed just like I suspected. He only glances up to see who is late and gives us a stern glare as a warning not to do it again before going back to his business. I'm glad that he doesn't do more than that and ignore the stares from the other kids as I find my seat next to Rumi near the back. When I slide into it I catch her eye and she gives me a small comforting smile, as if she knows I've had a frustrating day thus far. I find it in me to smile back at her in thanks, glad to have a friend that's not going to ask me a million questions. Well…I guess Cato technically didn't either, but I suspect it's because he already knows the answers, or at least some of them.

I hear Claudius talking and snap my head in the direction of the large screen that now is showing the live feed from the Hunger Games and sink back in my chair, trying to relax at least a little. Traditionally not much happens after the bloodbath, but they seem to be done talking about the bloodbath at least for now, though I suspect that's what they've been talking about for a while now, probably since I went to school earlier.

Now they have Claudius and Caeser in a small box in the corner of the screen commenting as most of the screen shows the arena and what's going on now. Right now they are on two tributes still running, I think the District 8 pair if I remember correctly. As far as I remember they made it past the bloodbath, but they don't seem to have much in way of supplies or anything. In fact, all I can tell that they have is a small backpack the girl is carrying and a canteen the boy has that I suspect is empty, because normally nothing like that is filled at the start for entertainment value. Aside from the bloodbath and the obvious killing of tributes, there isn't much more that the Capitolites love than watching tributes suffer from the elements or lack of water or food. That's the major advantage of being in the alliance because they always control the supplies and this year they have an easy access to the largest water source in the arena. All the other tributes are going to struggle to find the other sources of water, because most are streams and I highly doubt any of them know how to track the woods for it like I do or Gale for that matter. In fact, if I was in the arena and didn't know better, I'd think that the lake could be the only source of water. It's not as if the Gamemakers haven't only had one water source before.

I suspect watching two tributes running from the alliance that isn't even coming after them yet is getting boring though, because the screen switches to two other tributes. They're running away still but more jogging at this point, clearly knowing that they are safe enough from an attack at this point. But that's not what surprises me; it's the fact that there is for one another pairing, but they aren't district partners like the District 8 pair. That's normal enough when it comes to partnerships. It's the District 7 boy and that Peeta kid from 12.

They don't really say much, but Claudius and Caeser are having a field day about this strange alliance. They go on and on about it and give examples in the past of odd alliances but I'm only half paying attention to them. I know it's strange, I don't need to hear it. So I only half pay attention until the pair stops, catching their breath and filling their one water bottle at the stream they have miraculously stumbled upon somehow. Actually, the two look grateful to find it at all which tells me they weren't looking for it. Lucky bastards.

"I'm sorry about Danielle." Peeta comments to the boy with compassion, and the District 7 boy sighs.

"Me too. If only she'd listened to me and not gone for that axe then that District One guy wouldn't have killed her." The boy replies, looking down to the stream and trying not to cry I'd guess. From what I can tell Danielle must have been his district partner and should have been part of their alliance. It makes me wonder how this Peeta kid got in with them. Even if he seems to be a good speaker as I found out last night just half paying attention to the interviews once I came back from running away, that wouldn't indicate that he would be in an alliance with anyone. Though with an alliance worthy score I could see the benefit of having him even if I had no clue how he got it. Which I don't.

But I'd bet money someone I know does. I glance towards Cato who's back is to me where he's sitting near the middle of the room, but shake my head at my thought process. Don't go there, Katniss. You can figure out the answers by yourself.

I'm so distracted by wanting answers that I only realize that I've been in some sort of daze when the class starts getting excited. At their reaction I blink a few times and glance to the screen, finding myself looking at the gleaming gold cornucopia and I know why everyone is so excited. They have finally gone back to watching the alliance plus the District 3 kid. Meaning Gale and Clove.

In all honestly they aren't doing much exciting, just looking at their stash of supplies and weapons. Glimmer and Slone seem to be gathering enough food for dinner and putting it in a box where a tent has already been erected. Marvel and Clove seem to be moving the rest of the supplies and weapons that they aren't going to use in the near future into a sort of pile about thirty yards from the cornucopia while Gale and Havana seem to be watching the District 3 boy as he digs around one of the platforms where the tributes started, probably looking to dig up one of the mines.

A few minutes later he comes up with one that Havana helps him dig out and he looks at it, sort of messing with it until he grins.

"Yep, this will work." He comments mostly to himself, but it seems to catch the attention of Glimmer.

"You sure 3?" she questions him, frowning. Though I highly suspect she only came over because Gale was with Havana and she's frowning because she doesn't like them being alone, the jealous girl that she is. Gale seems to figure that out too as he eyes her, but only gives into an almost undetectable private smile as Glimmer and Havana seem to glare at each other momentarily. Well that probably solves that mystery. He clearly wants them to be fighting over him, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like one or the other. Maybe he secretly likes both, because honestly I don't know why he would kiss someone without wanting to.

"Yeah." The boy claims, trying to sound absolutely confident but clearly scared of being surrounded by three alliance members who could easily snap his neck at any time with their bare hands.

Gale seems to detect his unease, so he smiles at the boy before glancing to the girls. "Relax, he's got it. You don't have to surround him as he figures out how to make it work."

They look at his disbelievingly, but Gale just rolls his eyes. I understand what he's getting at because the kid really is scared; even if this was his idea, he's not going to do very well if he's terrified. But the girls just shrug and give Gale a smile as Gale walks away towards the lake, leaving the girls by the kid. Now that Gale's gone they completely ignore the boy on the ground and give each other fake smiles before going separate directions, Glimmer back to Slone and Havana to help the other two while keeping an eye on the boy from a distance.

Half the class snorts and laughs at that, clearly enjoying the show that Gale is putting on. Even Claudius and Caeser are delighted by the girls practically being at each other's throats with their clear jealously. But like everyone else, they are suspecting that Gale does like one girl over the other and he's just keeping it a secret to keep them fighting each other, no one suggesting that he's playing both of them. Which only makes me vexed for no reason. I mean so what if it's making him more…popular. I'm still frustrated by it because even I suspect he likes one of the girls, and I'm guessing it's Glimmer. After all, he was trying to make her jealous as far as I can tell last night but that doesn't mean that he doesn't like her.

The screen goes over to Gale where he's by himself at the edge of the lake, and he's squatting down by it in the sand, scooping up water and putting it through his hair and on his arms. All of the kids have their jackets off and seem to be sweating, so I can only assume that the arena is very hot this year. Actually that's kind of confusing because why would they give them those really warm jackets if it was going to be hot? Well, whatever. Who am I to question what the Gamemakers do or don't do? Maybe they'll need them at some point, like the weather will randomly change from very hot to very cold one day.

The screen is still on Gale but seems to be getting bored with him just squatting there until Gale looks back to his alliance, making sure no one is looking at him. Glimmer is really just watching the District 3 kid as he plays with the deactivated mine with a screw driver he clearly found in the supplies somewhere, clearly not trusting him even if she likes Gale while Slone ignores her and keeps organizing their supplies for the night it seems before they go off on their annual first night hunt for tributes. Marvel is grumbling about something while Clove glares at him by the supplies and Havana is watching Glimmer while she dumps another box of supplies in the pile and I roll my eyes at that.

But no one is watching Gale, and once he's satisfied by that he looks back at the lake and takes something out of his pocket, smiling at it. I squint when I try to see what it is but his palm is blocking most of it and the camera isn't really at the right angle to get it. But everyone is clearly curious at whatever it is, just his token probably. Actually come to think of it, Gale never told me what his token was. In fact, he never even mentioned it and I totally forgot about it until this point. So…what the heck did he take?

Once the camera zooms in everyone in the room just seems to shrug, because it looks like something that has no worth. Just a rock wrapped in twine, probably something he made while the camera wasn't on him in the arena and he was just bored, just pretending now that it means something. I, however, am between freezing in place and gasping out loud, my mouth agape as I stare at it in silence.

It really shouldn't mean anything at all. Just a rock that looks oddly like an arrow wrapped in twine. But to me…it's special. That's _our_ special lucky charm, the one Gale made with the rock I found when we had just started working as a pair in the woods without our dads. We weren't really doing well up to that point and I was ready to give up, and it was just a silly gesture but somehow that day we started doing well together, even better than our dads. Arrows and snares, the perfect combination he told me. It became our good luck charm, and we left it in the woods and only checked on it every now and then.

Come to think of it, I hadn't checked it in a while. Certainly not since he left for sure. I don't know if he took it just because it was our good luck charm or not, but clearly it's some kind of message for me.

Arrows and snares, arrows and snares. The perfect combination, a deadly combination. So…what? I mean he has the shiny silver bow and quiver which he probably knew that he could convince the Gamemakers to put into the arena if he did well with it in training and his private session, so that leaves the snares. So has he set some snares already, or is he trying to tell me that he is going to? Maybe that's his message to me, subtly telling me his plan since he hadn't told me anything at all? I mean, it's not like he's going to just say his plan out loud in the middle of the arena, and I am supposed to know him better than anyone. Or maybe it's just him telling me that this was our good luck charm before and it will be again this time. I mean, he did seem pretty nervous when he left which scared me a little. Maybe he's telling me to have faith in him because he has good luck on his side.

Suddenly the lights turn on and I blink a few times, and it takes me a minute to realize class time is over. Everyone is getting up and chatting excitedly, and to my utter surprise I'm not immediately bombarded with questions. They must have got the memo somehow I didn't want to talk. But that doesn't stop Cato.

"So you know what his token meant?" he questions me, as we're the only ones left in the room.

"Maybe." I shrug nonchalantly, even though I'm not entirely sure I'm not going to let Cato get to me again.

"Well I don't, but as you know I know much more." He reminds me with an almost wicked grin. "In fact, I'd guess I could answer a lot of your questions."

I roll my eyes at him because I know what he's saying, but I don't know why he's reminding me. "What do you want?"

He smirks back and snorts, but decides in the end to tell me straight for once. "I'll give you pieces of information, but it's going to cost you."

"Money?" I guess, though I know it's not. Dreading the truth, I'm denying saying it.

"No, something far more enjoyable." He winks and I half glare at him. "You know where I live, so when you come I'll be there."

"How do you know I'll even come?" I dare to ask, annoyed somehow with his all knowing attitude.

He smiles again and laughs before coming closer, almost in my face and looking straight into my eyes, clearly satisfied about something. "Curiosity. You're dying for answers, and I have them."

I don't answer, just let my mouth gape open as he winks and struts off, allowing me to breath. What bothers me is not that he's demanding kisses and…whatever for the information, but something far worse. He knows I'm tempted to give in just because I have a dire need to know.

Damn it. As if things weren't complicated enough.


	16. Oblivious

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_You, the actor, must be aware of when you're being funny, but the character you're playing should always be oblivious to the fact.-Jon Lovitz_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Gale's POV

"Alright, we can finish these tomorrow. Let's go." I decide, wiping off my brow in this burning heat. I'm trying not to let it affect me but it doesn't get this hot back home, not unless you're in the training room when they can change the temperature. Guess that did help after all.

We've been working for hours on digging up the rest of the mines around the plates, and we're almost done. There's just five or six more plates left to undig, but I'm curious to see if we'll even need them. After all, we already have a ton just lying around. The D3 kid (who in a shaky voice told me his name was Teddy) had already played around with one of them and reactivated it, and now he was trying to make something to flip it on and off out of something else he dug up under one of the plates. To be perfectly honest I have no clue what he's doing, but District 3 is known for their technology and intelligence; I trust the kid enough to leave him be and just let him do whatever it is he's doing. Well…with a guard that is.

"What do you mean, let's go? We still have at least an hour before sundown." Clove protests, still slightly pissed off about something. Honestly at this point, I don't know if it's because of me, her bickering with Marvel, or something else. Nor do I particularly care, but I can rationalize it with her. Of course that would be helpful if more protests weren't coming my way.

"But I haven't finished eating yet." Marvel protests, holding up yet another applesauce. Seriously, I think it's his third. And while I'm sure that there's plenty, hasn't the kid ever heard of rationing food?

"And we need to finish the mines." Havana points out, her head nodding to Teddy sitting there on the ground half oblivious to what's going on above him.

"Teddy can stay and work on the mines here with whoever stays back. So since you're so hungry Marvel, why don't you do that?" I butt in before anyone else can protest.

"Hell no!" Marvel protests, frowning. "No way am I missing this."

Fair enough. As much as I hate to admit it and would want him to stay back, he is one of the more skilled tributes in our alliance and would be more helpful on the annual first night hunt. But someone has to stay back. While the mines aren't in place yet and the kid's still half scared out of his wits, I don't entirely trust him alone here. Someone has to stay.

"Fine. We'll draw sticks or something to decide who stays." I suggest, and everyone grudgingly agrees. It is the fairest way, after all. And while I have no problem not playing fair, I feel like I have to appear that I can. All for the strategy. Because like Jay mentioned, I'm walking some fine lines here if everything goes my way when it comes to sponsors; and even if I make them look like accidents, not everyone will believe me. With good reason.

Without more questions being fired at me, I walk around finding sticks and break them as evenly as I can into six of the same length, taking one and breaking it further. Whoever gets the short stick stays back. Then I line them up so that the tops are even in my hand and take one, making sure that I don't take the short stick because it's imperative that I go. I'm playing fair, but not that fair.

Before we can reveal them, Clove frowns and repeats her question. "I still don't understand why we're leaving now."

"Think about it; they'll be expecting us to come after dark. If we leave now, then we may catch someone not being careful, or someone panicking and making a lot of noise. It's unpredictable, and that's where you win." I explain, leaving out the real reason. While all of that is true, it's a whole lot harder to track someone in the dark. It's still going to be difficult at this late of an hour, but I'm confident that as long as I have some kind of lead in the light I can bring us to a tribute tonight. But I don't want them all knowing about my hunting skills until they have to, and I wish I could just burn it in to Clove's head to shut up because she's the only one who knows. It's supposed to be a secret that my family and Katniss's hunt in the woods because we and Ryder's team for that matter would be in deep shit if anyone found out, but luckily anyone who knows (mostly just Academy students that know us I'd guess) hasn't or maybe wouldn't say anything. But this is the Hunger Games, so I wouldn't put it past Clove to let it slip. After all, there really aren't rules to this game.

Clove rolls her eyes in response, but silently concedes to my logic. Glimmer gives me a smile and claims sweetly. "I think it's a great idea. You're so smart."

"Thank you." I smile back at her, secretly glad that she's still desperate for attention. At this rate, I have a feeling she'll go with anything I say just to get rid of Havana. Marvel glares at her but says nothing, and I can tell he's still agitated by her. Before this gets out of hand and I have to choose a girl or something, Clove comes to my rescue and tells everyone to show their stick.

Naturally I didn't give myself the short stick since I'm the one who made them, but I honestly didn't care who got it. I looked around instead of down to my stick and it took a second to figure out who got it, but Glimmer's smirk that meant she was satisfied about something told me to look to my left, where Havana was frowning down at her clearly shorter stick.

Hmm, it might have been better if they were both on the hunt for my strategy because their clear jealously of each other would be entertaining for the audience. Then again, when hunting being quiet is essential, and something tells me those two wouldn't be. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

"Well now that that's settled, let's get going." Marvel states, throwing his stick behind him and walking towards the weapons, Slone and following him.

"Of course, I can't catch a break." Havana mumbles, and to my surprised Glimmer pats her on the shoulder, her sweet smile dripping with fake sympathy.

"Aw, it's alright. Besides, you were the one who first stepped up to help District 3, so now you can help finish that project while the rest of us are gone." She 'helps' make Havana feel better. Havana glares at Glimmer's hand as if she wishes that she could burn it off with her eyes before looking to me, pleading in her eyes.

"I'm really sorry, but it was fair." I tell her, making myself sound slightly disappointed. She seems to catch the disappointment like I'd hope she would, and then shrugs before glaring again at Glimmer with untrust, and then stalks off towards Teddy to help him.

Glimmer, however, seemed to have missed the disappointment and gives me a wink before strutting off to join Marvel and Slone, Clove rolling her eyes before going behind her. Well that went well.

Allowing myself a private smile, I flick the stick in my hand to the side and go to claim my bow, ready for this hunt to begin.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing?" Marvel questions me, and when I glance up I find him staring down at me, arms crossed and eyes slightly vexed.

"Checking for tracks." I decide to be honest, the entire reason I wanted to begin the hunt early. At first I tried to make it look like I wasn't doing that, but it's pretty hard to find tracks if you aren't closer to the ground. So every once in a while for the last half hour or so I've been checking the soil where it looked like it could be something not made in nature. But now, people are questioning me.

Marvel snorts and seems half amused and half pissed. "You can't be serious."

"What?" I ask, standing up and brushing my hands off on my pants.

"You can't know how to track. There aren't even woods in District 2." He tells me. I almost laugh because I don't know how the hell he would know that, but his assumption is so stupid that I decide not to tell the poor guy the truth. I don't know a lot about the other districts aside from what I've learned in school, but it's a pretty good bet that there are woods in most of them. Why would he think that?

"Yeah, in school they taught us that there were just mountains in District 2." Slone chimes in, and I raise an eyebrow at that. Do they now? Not very descriptive of them.

"And there aren't trees on mountains?" I question rhetorically, sarcasm dripping from my tone. Come on people, think. This is basic logic here.

"Of course there are." Marvel rolls his eyes as if I was the one being stupid. Well he should have clarified sooner. "I'm saying that these aren't mountains, and you can't be that good."

"Good at what?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"Tracking. We were never taught that, and you're just trying to be a show off here." Marvel guesses, his full height close to mine as he comes right up to me.

"Am I?" I question, holding back my amusement. I wasn't trying to show off or be that good at all; I just know how to track. Granted it's not taught at the Academy in District 2 and apparently not in One or Four either, but I do know how. The funny part is that he thinks I'm just faking it, so I'll let him think that. Maybe.

"Oh let it go Gale, they've caught you." Clove rolls her eyes, and Marvel smirks at what he thinks is Clove betraying me. Well so much for telling them I actually can, but this is probably for the best. Because Clove knows that I actually can track, and she's apparently only going to go with it if I do the smart thing here. Keeping secrets from the rest of them won't exactly harm me in this case.

"You don't have to impress us. You already do." Glimmer adds with a sultry smile, and I give her one back. Good to know someone's on my side.

"Ugh Glimmer, just shut up." Marvel insists, his annoyance now turned on his district partner. "And you, what the hell were you pretending to look for anyway?"

"I don't know. Footprints or something. It would indicate where a tribute was heading." I shrug, adjusting the bow on my shoulder.

"And has the oh mighty Hawthorne found any?" he questions me.

Yes. "No."

Marvel seems satisfied that I've admitted that I don't know what I'm doing and didn't find anything on accident, and nods. "Good, let's go this way." He demands, pointing in the direction to our right. Slone looks at him and frowns.

"Why?"

"Because I have a good feeling about it." Marvel answers rather unhelpfully, and I shrug.

"Fine, whatever. Lead the way." I gesture for him to go. Satisfied, he takes what he believes to be his rightful place and I half regretfully follow him.

I know we might just happen to find someone on his instincts, but more likely than not we're not going to find anyone tonight on this hunt. But telling and insisting that I actually knew how to track and following the tracks I found would have given me away too quickly, and then they might not like having me around as long. I'd be a threat, an even bigger one than I am now. Besides, once we find no one on this path Marvel's going to look like an idiot, and I'll still have a trail to follow tomorrow assuming it doesn't rain before then.

I honestly didn't expect to find a trail so close to the Cornucopia, but after walking for around twenty minutes I knew my eyes weren't lying from when I was just watching the ground for signs. So when I came to the next one, I pretended to tie my shoe and observed it, sure that it was footprints. They were deeper than they should be, as if the person was running which seems pretty obvious to me. After all, they were running from the bloodbath.

At the next one I ducked down and found what I thought was the same print, but this time I found another one close by, maybe three feet away. By the amount of time that has past I'd guess that the footprints were made at the same time, meaning that there were two tributes working together as a team most likely. It's not entirely unheard of, but it's not as common as our classic alliance for sure. Must be district partners. And since I don't know exactly who was killed in the bloodbath earlier, I'll just have to wait to find out who they could be when it gets dark and they show us the faces and district numbers of the fallen.

What's kind of amusing is how easy it was to find the trail of footprints once I was looking for it. They're heavy prints, far deeper than say, mine would be. Granted I do hunt and it's extremely helpful to make little noise or prints so it comes somewhat naturally to me and Katniss (though more me), but this is the first time I've realized how big a difference it can make. Whoever that trail belongs to is dead meat tomorrow as long as I have any say.

We walk for hours on end with Marvel in the lead, only stopping briefly to watch the ten fallen tributes in the sky in a small clearing we stopped in. Marvel's been quite annoying, shushing anyone who tries to question him. I keep in the back, watching and waiting for this plan of Marvel's to irrevocably fail. Glimmer of course starts falling behind Slone and Clove who are just sort of playing with their weapons following Marvel until she's in step with me. We walk in silence for a few minutes before she tugs on my wrist, pulling me behind a tree as the others walk on, oblivious.

"I know what you're doing." She informs me in a whisper, and for a moment I panic that she knows that I can actually track in the woods and I'm just taking the opportunity to make her district partner look like an idiot. But she can't actually know that save Clove telling her and something tells me that would never happen.

"What?" I whisper, playing dumb. If we don't get back to the rest of the group soon they're going to know something's up. Not that they don't anyway, but I'd rather not have them have to come looking for it.

"You're just trying to make me jealous with Havana." She whispers, bringing her hand up my chest slowly, seductively. I'll admit that it's sort of turning me on because I am a guy, but I have to focus. Besides, this could be a great opportunity to clue Katniss in that I don't really care about these girls, just her. I did find a way to show my token, but that would require her to either be watching at that point or they show it in the recap, of which I'm not sure either happened. Actually, has the recap already happened or is the mandatory viewing now? No, it's the middle of the night; of course it's not on right now. Or at least here it is. Man, time is so off in here. I didn't realize how much it really didn't matter when you don't have a clock and you just go by the sun and moon.

"Glimmer, we have to get back." I sigh, trying to get out of her seductive hold on me. But she grabs my shirt and keeps me in place, forcing me to meet her eyes before I can leave. Great.

Once she's satisfied about whatever it is she was looking for, she gets on her tiptoes and brings her lips to my ear, whispering as her hands go on my shoulders. If someone didn't know better, they'd think she was whispering sexual calls in my ears, damn the arena and the cameras. Actually…what do I know, she might actually do that.

"I know you were trying to make me jealous. Guess what? It worked." She begins, and I'm honestly surprised at her admittance. "Havana is nothing and we can get rid of her."

"How do you plan to do that?" I whisper in her ear, genuinely curious. Though it's not part of my plan for the girls to take each other out, I could work with it. Maybe.

Apparently Glimmer takes this as my admitting that everything she said is true about me even though I did no such thing, and to my surprise gives me a long, lingering kiss. When she pulls away, I'm half dumbstruck, and wait for her to answer. "Oh, I'll think of something."

With a small giggle and a wink, she lets me go and struts off to meet up with the rest of the group I presume, leaving me alone for a second. What I really want to do is punch this tree in my frustration that my hormones took over my wits and now Glimmer thinks she has me where she wants me, but I can't do that. I can't let the cameras or the audience see me weak or not on top of it. Instead, I smirk and snort as if that's exactly where I want her to be, and lightly jog to catch up with the rest of the group.

The group appears to be oblivious to Glimmer and I ever being gone, as Glimmer is already there and walking behind Slone, scrutinizing her nails as she walks. When I catch up I keep my breathing normal and we walk for a while in silence until we hear a fire start to crackle ahead and slightly north of us.

A fire? Are these people idiots? On the first night of the Games? I mean I know it's cold but a fire when they know people are hunting out here is practically suicide!

Marvel turns to us and seems triumphant and cocky that his instincts were actually right. Honestly, I think it was more luck than skill. Just like Glimmer catching me in a moment of weakness.

Or really, I need to accept that I'm not the only one with a plan or skills out here.

* * *

Katniss's POV

He's lying about his tracking skills? Why the hell would he risk doing it if he was going to lie about it?

Those are the thoughts that keep going through my head as I sit on the armchair in the Hawthorne's living room with Posy on my lap, half playing with the doll in her hand and half watching her big brother. I'm not sure at five she entirely knows what's going on, but I'm sixteen and don't really know either. To think I know this boy best and he's tripping me up. If only there was a way I could get answers!

No, don't think that Katniss! Or at least don't let your brain go the way it is, to Cato and his…offer. No matter how much I want answers I will not go to Cato. Granted he probably does have some of the answers I want from his freaky illegal hacking skills, but I'm not going to go to his house to get them. Because that would require me kissing…or whatever else he has in mind…him, and I can't go there. I don't even know what's going on with me and whatever I feel for Gale; I'm not going to throw kissing someone for answers into the mix.

Honestly, I feel disgusting even thinking about it in Gale's house, with his adorable little sister content on my lap. If Gale's family is fine with just letting Gale surprise them (because frankly, they are), then I should be too.

It doesn't mean I'm not mad at him though.

"What the hell is he doing?" I question mostly myself aloud, but Marc seems to think it was just out there for anyone to answer and shrugs.

"Maybe he's pretending he doesn't know how to track."

"Or he doesn't want them to know yet." My dad guesses, and I glance to them, frowning.

"Then why would he risk it anyway? I mean, tracking had to be the reason he wanted to start early." I guess, and I know I'm right. Starting in the dark wouldn't have helped him. But even if he didn't find trails, I can't see him letting Marvel lead the way since he is for all intents and purposes the leader of the alliance as far as anyone can tell. Aside from the fact that I'm fairly certain by his behavior that he _did_ find a trail and just isn't saying anything.

"Because Gale has a plan, and he's got them right where he wants them." Rory smiles a bit cocky, still riding the popularity wave he clearly got at school and probably the Academy today just like I predicted.

"Gale's gonna win!" Posy adds from my lap, but I just hug her closer to me and turn to Rory.

"Did he tell you something?" I question him, half annoyed that Gale would tell him over me and half anticipating some answers finally.

"No." Rory admits, but then shrugs. "I just know my brother, and he wouldn't do that unless he wanted to."

I know your brother too but that's not a good enough answer for me. So much for that resource.

"Gale obviously has a plan, though none of us know what it is." Hazelle adds, trying to end the conversation so we'll all watch. "Eventually it should become clear to us."

That seems to end the conversation and silent watching ensues as Prim, Vick, and my mother only half pay attention as they do either schoolwork (the kids) or sewing (my mother), but the rest of the room watches with interest again. I, however, can't seem to stop inwardly pouting even though that's so childish. Maybe if I watch more I'll figure it out.

So that's where I end up hours later in the middle of the night, in my own living room with the volume low as I sit right in front of the television with a blanket around me, watching the Hunger Games live. Not much is happening right now as Marvel leads the group with Gale lazily following in the back, and I'm starting to regret staying up. After all, I have to be at school in a this morning and nothing is happening. While there's always an alliance hunt on the first night, with an arena this big not much is likely to happen. Even the night announcer Hannibal (Caeser and Claudius are for when people are actually watching, or at least normal people) is saying that while they do happen to be on the District 8 pair's trail, they're a long way off and aren't likely to find them before sunrise in a few hours.

So I start drifting off when something catches my attention, and I brood over watching Gale and Glimmer whisper behind a tree, close to each other and touching as the rest of the alliance walks on, oblivious to the two being missing. What the hell are they doing? In the arena? During a tribute hunt? Is Gale freaking insane?

Well that certainly woke me up. Glimmer kissing Gale does even more.

A rage I don't quite understand boils in me, and if I could kill Glimmer with my bow and arrows from here I would. How dare she! In the arena! With Gale? Ugh, what am I doing?

No…what is she doing? Heck, what is Gale doing? Why didn't he push her away, or slap her, slit her throat, something? And there Glimmer goes sashaying away with a satisfied smirk on her face while on the other half of the screen is Gale now alone. I can tell that he's briefly dumbstruck but then he gives his I wanted that to happen smirk, and I find myself unconsciously making an annoyed noise out loud. Oops, well no one's up anyway.

How dare he? And he asked me just a week ago…and Glimmer…and…he _wanted_ that to happen?! In the arena!?

I don't know how people live without answers to this kind of stuff. I mean I get the surprise factor, but this…I need to know. I just do.

Suddenly Cato's offer is looking more and more enticing.

Wait, what am I saying? Heck no! No Cato, I won't go there. I know what he wants and he'll just take advantage of it, even knowing I'm just going for answers.

I've been boiling with anger for so long that I need to get away from this television for a few minutes. I should really go to bed and catch a few hours of sleep before I have to get up for school but I'm so vexed that I know sleep isn't going to come to me any time soon. I'm wide awake now, and I know if sleep is going to come at all I'm going to need to calm down.

So with that in mind, I stand up and let the blanket drop to the floor, leaving the television on as I go to the kitchen and pour water into the tea kettle and turn on the stove, opening a cabinet door for mint leaves to put in the tea. Mint tea has always helped me sleep before, and I'm praying that exhaustion will take over so I can sleep now. I'm not entirely sure how much more of this I could handle tonight, especially since I guarantee that little exchange between Gale and that…blonde bitch is going to be in the recap that's mandatory at eleven AM every day during the Games. I'm certainly not going to want to deal with questions about that, so maybe sleep would be best now.

But once my tea is made and I hold it in my hands as I go to turn off the television, I find myself watching the entire alliance quickly and quietly making their way towards something, a new drive to their step. Hmm, they must have found something.

After watching for another minute as the tea meets my nose and wills me to sleep, the alliance stops and points to a fire (seriously, how dumb are these tributes?) that's burning low and two tributes, a boy and a girl, sleeping near it. What do you know; they actually found the District 8 pair. I suspect it was the fire that tipped them off.

Well I can't go to sleep now, so I rub my tired eyes and put my tea down, waiting for the inevitable deaths of the District 8 pair to begin.


	17. Fair

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made._

_-Groucho Marx_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Gale's POV

I must say, I didn't see it coming that we'd actually find a tribute tonight following Marvel, let alone two. While I'm about ninety percent certain that the trail I found earlier while tracking was two people, I know it couldn't have been these two. I mean why would it? It's the totally opposite direction.

Or is it? It doesn't really make a whole lot of sense for them to loop around like that, especially running from the bloodbath. And why would they try to trick us or other tributes with a trail anyway when I'm fairly certain I'm the only one in here with tracking abilities? It just doesn't make sense, especially considering they built a fire. You don't make a fake trail and then lead the predators to you, after all.

So it couldn't have been these two, the District 8 pair if I'm remembering correctly. There weren't a whole lot of options if it was district partners that I found. I paid close attention to the fallen tributes just to make sure, and there were only two districts with both tributes still alive aside from the ones in our alliance; eight and eleven. And since I was fairly certain that Thresh wouldn't help his tiny district partner even if I didn't expect him to kill her himself, I had assumed that the tracks I found were of the two now in front of me.

So if it isn't, then I have found an unusual circumstance here. It's not unheard of for two people not in the same district to partner up in the Games, but it's not common. At all. In fact, I'm pretty sure it only happens every four to five years or so if that. So…who could it be?

Well let's see who's left besides our alliance plus Teddy. Hmm…there's the District 7 boy I think. I thought Slone was going to get him during the bloodbath but I think that's when I got distracted by that girl. Watching the sky I figured out that it was the District 10 girl who got me in the leg with her knife. That wound still hurts, especially after walking all night but I haven't let it show. The medicine has kicked in a bit I'm assuming since it's bearable enough, so hopefully it doesn't hinder me any for the rest of the time I'm in here. With how heavy the tracks were my first guess would have been Ten's crippled partner, but he was shown in the fallen tributes too so that theory's out. Hmm…well Thresh and Rue are still alive, but I'm still going with they're working on their own. So is that Twelve kid one of the two I found? Maybe, but who would he work with?

Hmm…who else is left? Oh right, Red. That girl from Five. Man, I practically forgot about her! Which I guess was her point, being practically invisible. Not going to get a whole lot of sponsors that way but then again, if everyone forgot about her she'd probably make it further. I'd assume she was planning for that and that's why she was at the plant station practically the entire time we were training. But would she work with someone else? My gut instinct is no since she seemed to be kind of a loner, but who knows?

So that leaves three options for my two; Twelve, Seven, and that little girl Rue. The little girl might be one of them because she could probably use the help, but both the footprints I found were larger, and I doubt that a girl that can't weigh more than seventy pounds if that would make such heavy footprints. So…the two boys then? I guess it would sort of make sense, because even with the entire alliance they'd do better with two of them against us. Maybe they'd even do some damage. I mean, I still don't know how that Twelve kid got an eight for a training score…

"Gale." Someone pulls me out of my thinking, and I blink a few times before looking up, finding all eyes on me.

"Hmm?"

"We were saying that we need to figure out who will kill the tributes." Glimmer helpfully fills me in, and I think for a minute.

"You only got one kill, right?" I turn to Glimmer and she nods, seeming pleased that I'm paying attention to her. Then I turn to Slone. "You too?"

"Yeah. Would have been two if that guy didn't have help from another tribute." He explains, and while it intrigues me I'm not going into that now, not with everyone around. I'll pull him aside later and try to confirm that the pair he was talking about was the pair I think I found from my tracking.

"Okay, since we all have at least two it's only fair for you both to take one now." I decide, and they seem pleased with that but Marvel and Clove frown.

"Hell no! I'm the one who found them." Marvel protests, but before I can say anything Clove complains too.

"That just means we're better, so we should kill them." Clove exclaims, playing with one of her knives. "Besides, when did you start playing fair?"

She has a valid point, but I can't let the others think that let alone the audience and sponsors. Not yet, anyway. I'm all for fair play when it comes to things that don't really matter, but I'm not above…cheating I guess would be the correct term if I need to win. And with my life on the line here, I'm willing to do anything to win in this arena. This is the most dangerous point of my life, after all; the only thing that comes close that I can compare it to is something that happened a few years back when I was sixteen.

It was a Saturday afternoon when I came home from training with Jay, and my dad was disappointed in my progress. I hadn't been chosen for the Hunger Games the following year when I would have been seventeen and I think that's what he hoped for. It didn't matter that I still had another shot (which I did end up getting obviously); he, like always, thought I wasn't living up to my or his expectations.

I got pretty mad and upset and since I didn't have school the next day, I packed up a small backpack with food and water and headed for the woods, making it clear I didn't want to hunt with him or Nic the next day. I would have brought Katniss with me, but she was sick with some kind of flu and I knew her mother would never let her out of her sights while she was ill, let alone Prim. So with that annoying me further, I slipped under the part of the fence that was off for us to go hunting that Ryder always turned off Saturday evening for us since we got there before dawn on Sunday and started walking.

I didn't really have a concrete plan, just that I would camp in the woods that night and hunt in the morning by myself. I'll admit that I was a tiny bit scared being out in the forest by myself at night, but really I was just more lonesome. So instead of sitting down and making a fire for the night, I kept walking and walking, exploring. I mean the forest had to end somewhere, right? Why not find it just to see what was there.

It took me at least three or four hours of walking, but eventually I found the end; or at least what should have been the end. There was a sort of clearing but I could see more woods or maybe an extension of the forest past that, maybe a mile or two away from where I was now. That took me another hour or so to get to the treeline and finally when the exhaustion hit me, I quickly made camp and didn't even bother to light a fire, just slipping into my sleeping bag and drifting off.

When I woke up the sun had already risen, but it wasn't too high in the sky. It took me a second to realize where I was but when I did, I smiled. I'd never been this far out before and it was almost…exhilarating. Like…freedom. That people like my dad or Jay or teachers couldn't tell me what to do.

But I had to go back at some point, and I knew it would have to be today. After all, tomorrow was Monday and if I wasn't at school on time bad things would happen to me. If I didn't show up at all they would take it out on my family. And no matter how mad I was at my dad, I couldn't do that to him or mom or the kids. So I packed up my sleeping bag and made a quick fire to warm up in the still slightly chilly spring morning, just sitting there thinking.

That is, until I felt a strange feeling that I wasn't alone. Which was absolutely ridiculous because who on earth would be out here? Even if Dad and Nic were hunting now (which I knew they would be), they wouldn't be this far out. I mean, why would they assume I was anyway? It's not like I really planned on it.

But I had always trusted my instincts before, so I felt I couldn't ignore this gut feeling. Feeling a bit stupid, I decided to call out. "I know you're here; you don't have to hide."

No response. Suddenly I felt sillier and decided I was off my rocker, and stood up to put out the fire. But when I was done, I turning around to go back and froze in place, finding a boy about Rory's age staring back at me.

He was dressed in what looked like very faded clothes, obviously mended quite a few times. His brown curls were a bit unruly and he looked half starving, but really all I could think was 'there's actually someone out here?"

"Hi." I break the silence, and it seems to half startle the boy. But his curiosity takes over and he waves and smiles shyly.

"Hi. Are you runnin?"

I wouldn't exactly call what I'm doing running, but in a way I guess I sort of was. "Kind of. What's your name?"

"Kelvin." He replies, walking towards me and stopping right in front of me. "What's yours?"

"Gale." I inform him, becoming more and more curious by the minute. "Are you alone?" I mean it's a valid question; what's a kid that's like ten doing out here in the wild by himself.

He hesitates for a moment and then shakes his head no, taking my hand in his. "Follow me!"

My curiosity taking over, I allow him to take me wherever it is he's taking me. It only takes about ten minutes, but when we come to what's obviously his destination my eyes shoot up in surprise. There are two tiny shacks of sorts half hidden by trees and half buried in the hills almost like they're caves, and a garden is discreetly lined against the trees where edible food is growing. I can also faintly hear running water nearby which I'm assuming is a creek or something.

"Momma!" Kelvin cries out, and a woman carrying a garden hoe in one hand and a toddler in the other comes out of one of the shacks and freezes when she sees me before turning wary eyes to Kelvin.

"Kelvin, what on earth are you doing? You know not to run out on your own and bring back people!" she exclaims with an exasperated frown, shaking her head at her son. Not bring back people? How often does that happen?

"Sorry Momma, but he said he was runnin!" Kelvin protests, and his mother sighs, putting the toddler down where she waddles off to the garden. Then she leans the hoe against the tree nearest to her and wipes off her hands holding one out to me.

"Name's Marie." She introduces herself as I shake her hand.

"Gale."

"I'm sorry about my son." She shakes her head. "Ever since his daddy died he doesn't really follow my rules so often."

"Oh." I reply, not really knowing what to say. I still don't know what to make of this situation.

"So you say you're running away?" she questions me, and I shrug.

"Sort of. More like running away from my problems." I half snort.

"Well the Capitol has a way of doing that." She smiles, and sighs. What? The Capitol? That's not exactly what I meant but I nod as if I agree. Something tells me that this family isn't supposed to be out here and I don't want them killing me or something to keep their secrets safe. "Where you running from?"

"District 2."

"Ah I see." She nods, and then gestures for me to come into her home, which I do. She offers me a cup of tea from a chipped cup and I take it more because I want to hear more than anything. My curiousity is higher than ever.

"You see, we're from District 3 originally. Things were getting too bad, and my husband and brother weren't being treated well in the factory where they made televisions, and of course we were terrified of our children being chosen for the Hunger Games. So we decided to run away, our family and my brother's." she begins, and then shakes her head, sighing. "My husband knew which direction they thought we'd take when they figured out we had escaped, so to save the rest of us he went that direction while the rest of us went the opposite to lead them off the trail. He had planned to loop around once he was sure it was safe but never came. That was almost four years ago now."

"How would they know which direction you would take?" I question her, curious. Was there only one way out of District 3 or something? I didn't really know much about the other districts, only what I learned in school. Which was next to nothing. Never really bothered me before now.

To my surprise, she seems surprised. "Why east of course, the same place you're heading I'd reckon."

"Where? I was just running." I question her, shocked that there is a place people would run to.

"District 13 of course." She informs me, and my look of absolute confusion must be so clear that she gives me a smile. "It's not gone like they say."

"Are you sure?" I ask her, this new information sounding crazy. Though I suppose she is a little crazy, living out here with no contact with anyone else for years and running from the District.

"I'm sure." She nods, and then hears something and walks outside. The rest of what I'm assuming came this way when they ran is outside, and they all freeze when they see me. It's not much, just a man and woman maybe in their forties and a teenage boy and girl about my age, maybe a little older.

I'm introduced to them as a runaway and they invite me to stay for lunch, which I do only because I feel bad not staying since I'm lying anyway. When they present what they have which is painfully little, just a few potatoes and turnips from last year's crop in their gardens, I wonder why on earth they left. Clearly they don't know how to live in the woods. Explaining that I have a bow because I can hunt, they ask a million questions and then I go off to hunt, coming back about two hours later with three rabbits. Once I skin them for them I insisted that I needed to get going, and left the rabbits with them. They thanked me heartily for the rabbits and wished me luck on my journey, and with that I nodded and smiled, going in the opposite direction of home just to make it look like my lies were truths.

After about an hour though I rounded back and took the long way, half terrified I'd find one of them by accident but that never happened. It took forever to get back to the familiar woods, and I was extremely tired by that point when it was already dark. When I finally got to the fence it was buzzing with electricity and I cursed at myself, panicking. I was stuck outside the fence and I wasn't going to make it to school. My family was probably worried sick about me but didn't tell anyone in fear that they would get in trouble because they knew I was on the other side of the fence illegally.

After quietly and desperately trying to find some kind of break in the electricity in the fence that I knew wasn't there, I got lucky around dawn; a peacekeeper from Ryder's squad recognized me and without many questions, helped me out. He turned off the fence for thirty seconds, too short of a time for any of the other peacekeepers to notice and I thanked him before racing home.

My family was a cross of relieved and pissed when I got home, but I didn't have much time to explain because I had to shower and get to school, but I knew I was in deep trouble after that little stunt. When I got home from training that day I gave them the explanation of that I went too far in the woods and lost my way in the new territory, but left out the family I found. I felt that even if they were crazy, I didn't want them to get in trouble; they had enough trouble barely surviving as it was clearly, and I didn't want to be responsible for ratting them out and indirectly being the cause of their deaths, because that would be what would happen if the peacekeepers found them.

I did tell Katniss though, and while she though I was crazy she believed me. We discussed the possibility of District 13 being alive and well and came to the conclusion that it was just a pipe dream for people not happy with their lot; it's not like anyone would actually make it that far anyway, and District 13 was long gone and leveled to the ground, not to mention still smoking fumes. They showed it on broadcasts every now and then just as a reminder.

Compared to that though, this is the most dangerous place I've been in my life, fighting literally for my life. And I'm not crazy though I do question some of my teammates sanity like I did the forest family. Except them I'm not above killing directly or indirectly.

"I've always played fair." I insist to Clove. "Just because you never saw it doesn't mean it's not there." All I get for that explanation is an exaggerated eye roll, but before she can protest more Glimmer cuts in.

"And Slone and I get our fair chance now." She smiles mostly at me, and I have to half look away. I don't care if this is good for my strategy, it's half creeping me out. "So he can take the boy and I'll take the girl."

"No, I get one." Marvel insists again. "I found them, so I get one. Which means I'll take yours, Glimmer."

"No!" she protests, her hands crossing over her chest with a frown on her face. "I get her."

"Oh come on, it will still count for our District! And it's only fair." Marvel complains to her, and she glares at him in warning.

"She's mine. Unless…" she exclaims, letting it trail off as she meets eyes with him. His go wide for a moment before anger crosses them, and finally defeat.

"Fine." He mutters, mumbling something unintelligible under his breath while Glimmer smirks in triumph. I meet eyes with Clove as to ask if she has any fucking clue what just happens and she meets mine with the same expression. What the hell was that about? What does Glimmer have over Marvel?

I had assumed that only Clove and I knew each other well as District partners, but clearly I'm wrong there. I can only hope this…whatever between Glimmer and Marvel doesn't come to bite me in the ass. Looks like no one is playing fair in this game.

* * *

Katniss's POV

Wake up, Kat!" Prim's voice half whispers, my shoulder gently shaking from her hand. I open my eyes with great effort and yawn, half disoriented and not knowing where I am. Oh that's right, I'm in the living room and not my bedroom. My still full tea is on the coffee table and the television is still on.

"Hey little duck. What time is it?" I ask, sitting up and very much wishing I could go back to sleep.

"We have to leave for school in ten minutes." She informs me, and I suddenly realize she's already dressed for school and I'm still in my pajamas.

"Kay." I half mumble, rubbing my exhausted eyes.

"What'd you do, stay up all night watching the Games?" she questions me, and I shake my head.

"No, just woke up in the middle of the night and turned it on." I lie, knowing I sound pathetically obsessed if I told her that she guessed the truth. "Must have fallen back asleep during it."

"Oh, alright." She easily accepts it, and I do feel bad for lying but I'm too tired to particularly care at the moment. "I'll wait for you to get ready."

I nod in response and drag myself up from the couch to my room, half not paying attention to getting ready as my mind is still focused on what I watched. When they were about five minutes from the tributes around dawn they sort of argued about who would kill them, but the most intriguing part was that Glimmer clearly has some secret of Marvel's, one he'll do anything to keep secret such as give up what should have probably been his right to have one of the tributes he found. It's very annoying I can't figure that one out, and I hope it doesn't hurt Gale any whatever it is because clearly he, Clove, or Slone had no clue what was going on either.

When they got to the tributes Glimmer kicked the girl in the stomach to wake her up, which isn't the most subtle or nice way to go about it but considering she was about to be killed I guess it didn't really matter compared to that. She screamed in terror as soon as she figured out what was going on which woke her district partner as soon as Glimmer's spear punctured the girl's chest, and he started scrambling as Slone went after him.

The boy slept with a knife in hand and fought Slone, and it was easy to tell that Slone had a fight on his hands with the clearly older boy who was bigger than him but just slightly. Clove decided when they were on the ground to help Slone out and whipped a knife out with her eerie accuracy and hit the boy in the middle of his neck, easily allowing Slone to get the upper hand and slitting the boy's throat. The two cannons went off about a minute apart and Slone pushed the now dead tribute off of him, covered in his blood but also his own from a deep cut on his arm from where the boy was obviously defending himself. Other than that he looked fine, and I knew he'd live. The wound would hurt, but it wasn't fatal since he'd get it treated almost right away.

After that when they were going back to camp I fell asleep, but for once I really wasn't looking forward to the mandatory viewing because I'd seen it all already, and most of it I didn't necessarily like. Last night didn't really answer any of my questions; in fact, it only gave me more.

And they certainly weren't answered when the mandatory broadcasting was on, that's for sure. The only thing I learned really was that I'm fairly certain that if Gale did actually find tracks (which I think he did), then it was that Peeta kid and the District 7 boy. I don't know if Gale figured out that it was them he found let alone that it was two people, but I'm guessing no. I can only hope he's prepared for them when that does happen.

At training we watch the Games again, but again not much happens. The alliance is just waking up after being up all night and arranging the mines around the pyramid of supplies as the District 3 kid says, so not much thrill in watching that. Most of the other tributes are just on the run or staying in place, trying desperately to find food or water if they haven't yet. Thresh is the only one not in the forest, as he seems at ease almost in the weeded area, clearly knowing which plants are edible as he chews on some of them almost constantly. The little girl that's from his district is actually jumping from tree to tree, which is amazing. If she never has to go to the ground then she's going to make it further than any twelve year old should, which is I'm assuming the reason she got an impressive score for her age and stature in training.

But really, all I can think about is the exchange with Marvel and Glimmer. The more I think about it, the more worried I get for Gale. What secret could they possibly have. Why did Glimmer say 'unless' and he instantly felt defeated. What plan do they have?

I have to know. It's driving me insane.

So after class, I can't believe what I'm actually going to do. I'm putting it down to being utterly exhausted from my lack of sleep which is making me slightly crazy, but even I know I'm doing it for answers because I hate surprises. And if anyone knows in the District what this little secret is, it's the one person who doesn't get his information fairly.

"Cato." I call to him as we're walking out of the classroom, and he turns and cocks an eyebrow at me. I take a deep breath and curse myself for even giving into this stupid mess, but I feel like I have no choice. "So about those files…"

It takes him a second, but when he realizes what I'm saying he grins cockily with a slight excited smirk in his eyes before gesturing for me to follow him. "Of course, follow me."

I nod and sigh, obeying him as I follow him out of the building and into Victor's Village, wishing for once that people would play fair. But of course, that doesn't ever happen. And if you really want something, you do what it takes to get it.


	18. Information

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it._

_-Herbert Simon _

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Katniss's POV

Following Cato back to his house in Victor's Village once again, I have a strange sense of déjà vu from last time. It's the same walk from the Academy in a semi comfortable silence, the same sort of reason I'm following him, the same kind of overcast sky blocking the sun from warming me. Except that time I was confused at Cato's intentions-this time I know exactly what this stroll entails.

I'm glad that no one seems to be home right now, but I don't really understand it. I know he lives with his parents and Mira here as well as his grandfather, but twice I've come and the place is quiet. I know that his grandfather, our third Victor from District 2, is in the Capitol for the Hunger Games, but where is everyone else?

"My parents are at the square watching the Games, and my sister has one on one training today." Cato answers me, and it's not until then I realize I must have said my question outloud. Unless my curiosity (or anxiety) was plainly written on my face, that is. Either is a possibility it seems nowadays.

"I thought Enobaria was Mira's trainer." I note, remembering somewhere that Enobaria trained two other girls besides me in the last year. Obviously one was Clove and they are both currently gone, but I was pretty sure Mira Evans was the other. And if that's true, then how on earth is Mira training? I'm off of those sessions because Enobaria is gone, so she should be too.

In response Cato rolls his eyes, but for once I know it's not because it's a stupid question. He's annoyed with his sister…as usual. It's not a big secret in the Academy that they don't particularly like each other. Honestly, it's one of us as the students' biggest entertainments at the annual Victor celebration that happens around the time of the Victory Tour where all the Victor's and their families stand and sit with them, because Cato and Mira actually have to act like they like each other for the cameras.

Gale always jokes it's like they're walking on burning coals and just below the surface they really want to kick each other with them but don't in fear of pissing off their grandfather, who is quite strict. And since they don't wish to be kicked out of Victor's Village any time soon, they at least attempt sibling tolerance in his presence. A lot of kids take bets on how many times Cato and Mira are going to make a face or something behind their grandfather's back at the things. Not that I've ever participated officially, but I always win against Gale (who backs Cato, but Mira always wins).

"She somehow got her way and convinced one of the assistants to help her." He informs me with a look of disgust and vex in his expression, opening the door to the study yet again. Now there really is a sense of déjà vu to this evening.

"Flirting?" I guess, because Mira is quite pretty for someone so lethal. Flowing blonde hair and baby blue eyes that make you think she's innocent for just a second if she's not smirking or scowling, which doesn't happen very often. But she does have a way of wrapping boys other than her brother around her finger.

"More like paid him off." He offers accompanied by a look of disgust. I decide not to ask for further details because I don't really want to know. Something tells me paying the assistant off did not come in the form of a normal currency.

Seems that trick runs in the family.

When I only nod in response, I find a ghost of a smile appear on his face indicating he approves of my silent agreement of his opinion of his sister's actions. Turning from me, he goes to the familiar desk and instead of turning on the computer again, he goes through the desk drawers and puts three full files on the desk before meeting my eyes.

"Alright, so what did you want to know?" he questions me, and suddenly I feel like I made a mistake. By his expression I can tell we're both waiting for the other to bring up the…payment of this little transaction, and it brings a heavy awkwardness to the atmosphere. Or at least on my end it's awkward, I can tell that Cato is somewhat enjoying this. Figures.

"Marvel's secret." I reply, and he actually seems surprised by it.

"Why do you want to know that?" he questions me. "Honestly, I thought you'd go for something more closely related to your…Hawthorne."

My eyelids lowering at his almost suggestion that Gale is my crush or boyfriend or whatever, I choose to ignore that. I just want my information and do whatever it is he wants so I can get out of here and forget that I stooped to this level. "Well do you know it or not, hacker?"

That brings a slightly smug smile to his face, and he picks up the middle file from his stack. "Of course I do. Wouldn't be a very good 'hacker' if I didn't, now would I?"

"Guess not." I agree, waiting with my hands splayed out on the desk on the other side of him for his information.

With that, he grins and flips through his papers that seem to be an extended version of the file I saw earlier with multiple pictures. The first seems to be of Glimmer with many pages of what I'm assuming is information as well as several pictures of her, some with other people that I'm assuming is her family. Just from Cato flipping through it I can tell she has what looks like two parents and an older brother and younger sister, who all look similar to her-pretty family, whore of a girl. When he comes to Marvel he goes past the first page and stops on the third, skimming the paragraphs until his finger land on one of the middle paragraphs.

"See for yourself." He looks up, sliding the file towards me. Curious, I turn the file around so the words are the right side up and go to the paragraph I was pretty sure his finger landed on, reading to myself.

_Went to Academy practice and shot spears after hours for several hours, hitting the target seventy five percent of the time. As the janitor leaves, another boy about the same age with brown hair slips in the room. Marvel looked up and grinned when he saw the boy, dropping his spear and following the boy out. Both boys enter what looks like a closet and stay in there for twenty minutes before coming out with mussed hair and clothes askew. Glimmer walking down the hall from her own after hours practice and catches both boys coming out of the closet, smiling to herself and forcing a confession out of them while they both make her promise to not tell their secret._

"He's gay?" I conclude, glancing up in surprise. That's his big secret?

"Yep." Cato nods. "When I was going through SIM's videos of the other Academies I stumbled upon this one. It only caught my attention because both of One's tributes were in it."

Well I'm not even going to ask how he has that much access to those videos or why SIM has them, because I have a feeling he won't tell me anyway. When does he even have time to do this stuff? He's at school or the Academy just as much as I am. Well…maybe that's what he uses his Sundays for while I go hunting. "How'd you know this was his secret before the Games started?"

"Mostly deductive reasoning, but Glimmer all but confirmed it when Marvel went white last night when she got her way and threatened to say something." Cato explains.

"I don't see why he's so intent on keeping it a secret." I wonder aloud. I mean it's not like being gay is that strange of a thing. I mean sure, it's not looked upon well but he's in the Hunger Games where he's probably going to die-who cares?

"Would you want all of Panem to know?" Cato questions me with a brow raised. It only takes me a second to think about it and then I shake my head.

"No, probably not."

"Besides, from what I can tell no one really knows. Even if he doesn't win he might want to keep it a secret for his family's sake." Cato reasons, and I nod.

"Glimmer is going to use this to her advantage again and again." I predict.

"She is, unless he just finally makes her shut up." He agrees, and when I think about what he said I know he's right. She will probably try this again, but there aren't rules to this game. What's to stop Marvel from taking Glimmer out permanently to keep his secret? Actually…it would get her slutty hands and mouth off of Gale…

"True." I concede finally, keeping my thoughts about my motives for just maybe liking that suggestion to myself. Cato doesn't need any more ammunition for that theory of his.

Taking the file back from me, he puts it back on his stack and returns them to their drawer before coming back up, a thought crossing his expression.

"You know, he's only killed girls up to this point." He points out.

"So?" I shrug. After all, it's only the second day of the Games and the only chance he really had to kill anyone was the bloodbath. I doubt he was going specifically for certain people then other than maybe Thresh if he had the chance.

"So what if that's on purpose?" Cato suggests.

"Why would he do that on purpose?" I question him. "Just because he likes boys doesn't mean he won't kill them. That is, if he wants to win." I point out. Which the boy clearly does since he volunteered. And at some point if he were to miraculously make it to the end, there's a high chance it would be a boy he'd have to face (Gale I'd hope).

"I guess. It's just odd." He shrugs.

"I guess so." I agree, hoping against hope I can get out of here without that…payment.

"You know what else is odd?" he comments, "Gale's token."

"I don't think it's odd." I retort. It has a whole lot of meaning to me anyway, as well as Gale. Who cares if no one else knows what it is.

"You know what it is." Cato accuses. It's not a question.

"So what if I do?" I shrug. Then it dawns on me why he's bringing it up-the ultimate hacker of information doesn't know something and I do. "You're the hacker, figure it out."

"What do you think I'm doing?" he crosses his arms over his chest, half glaring at me. "You know what it is and it's certainly not on any camera. Which means that he got it in the woods with you outside the district or something."

"Why do you care what it is?" I ask, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Cato doesn't need to know about our lucky rock. It's my and Gale's secret that no one else needs to know.

"Just curious." He shrugs, but I know there's a deeper level to his answer. He's not just curious; he hates not knowing something-probably a side effect of knowing everything all the time. Which gives me an idea…

With an almost smug smile on my face, he knows something is up. "I'll tell you." I exclaim, and he brightens up instantly but I don't let him speak. "But only if it's my payment for Marvel's secret."

He looks at me, astonished and almost angry. Cato doesn't even speak for a minute, just staring at me as if he's trying to figure something out. I hold my breath but try to appear steady, praying with all my might that he'll take the offer.

"That's not our deal." He eventually mentions, and I shrug, staying strong.

"It's not like you wouldn't make an exception." I state, giving him a half smile. I can tell his resolve is crumbling in his weakness for having to know things he shouldn't. "After all, this is probably the last bit of information you don't have…"

It takes him a second, but I know he's going to give in before the words even come out of his mouth. "Spill it."

Grinning smugly, I gladly give my secret away with relief that I'm in the clear at least for now. I know this trick isn't going to work again because like I suggested, he probably knows everything else. Which means I'll just have to never come to him again for information. Besides, Gale doesn't have to know that Cato knows this. Cato has enough to worry about coming out about his knowledge than to try and pull one on me with this anyway.

"We had just started hunting without our dad's and weren't doing very well when Gale found the rock and tied a string around it to cheer me up to remind me that we would be alright. That day we started doing well as a team and it became our lucky charm ever since." I half reluctantly give Cato the reader's digest version of the actual background story, but mostly relieved that my payment is given.

"So it's just a lucky charm?" he questions me, sensing that I'm not telling him everything but not pushing it.

"Yep." I nod.

"Alright." He replies, "You can see yourself out."

I nod in response, pleased once again that I'm in the clear. "Alright. Thanks for making an exception."

"My pleasure." He smiles, and I stop and look at him.

"Seriously?" I question, not believing him.

"Seriously. One exception isn't going to make a difference." He shrugs, a smirk making its way to his face.

"Oh?" I reply, raising an eyebrow to his assurance. "And why's that?"

That smirk fully finds its way to his face before he answers me, the classic Cato smugness returning. "Because now I know everything and you have no more alternative payments."

Oh so this is the root of his smugness. I must say I saw that coming. "And what makes you think I'll return?" I scoff.

"Curiosity." He grins, "You're not going to be able to help yourself, and some day in the near future you are going to find yourself in front of me with desperation for information and giving in."

"No I won't." I assure him, but he just laughs as I leave the room.

"Just keep telling yourself that, Everdeen." He yells down the hall as I go down the stairs two at a time, trying to get away from him. "You will be back and I'll be waiting."

As I make my way out of the house and slam the door shut behind me, I lean against the door and sigh, my hands covering my face. What the hell was I thinking giving into Cato? I just gave away the only information he doesn't have for something I didn't really need to know. I'll just have to prove myself right that I don't have to go back to Cato.

Thing is, I don't quite believe myself.

* * *

Gale's POV

"Alright, it looks good." I nod in approval at the pyramid of supplies now about thirty yards away from where we've set up camp with the reactivated now buried mines in seemingly random places around them. "Turn them on." I order to Teddy, who has his own homemade switch thing that he made from one of the mines we didn't use that control the others ones. Don't ask me how the hell he did it, but I trust that it's going to work-the kid's too scared out of his wits to not make them work in fear that he'll be killed by someone in our alliance.

Teddy nods and fiddles with the thing in his hand before a red light starts blinking on it. "There, the mines are active now."

"Good." Clove nods in approval. While she still doesn't quite agree with the idea of the mines, I think she's alright with it now because she'll never have to take her turn guarding the supplies which means she has a greater chance of killing tributes. It's not my motive for it, but I guess she has a fair point-I didn't really want to take a turn guarding either. "Now bury that thing so one of the other tributes doesn't find it and turn the things off."

Teddy nods and scampers off, deciding on somewhere near our tent probably because no tribute would dare go that near us for fear of being caught if they had any inkling of the mines around the supplies. Deciding that our task for the afternoon is complete, I walk away from the supplies and pick up my bow.

"What are you doing?" Havana questions me, and I look at her with a smile.

"Hunting for tributes." I inform her, and the others stop what they're doing and look at me.

"Are you insane? It's the middle of the afternoon!" Clove gives me a look, knowing exactly what I'm trying to do. After all, she's the only one who knows that I can actually track in the woods and probably found a trail, but clearly doesn't agree with me in my suggestion.

"They'll see you coming from a mile away." Marvel warns, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why not?" I shrug, "You went on instinct last night and found two tributes. If we start now then we have a better shot." Besides the fact that I'm quite certain by myself I could accomplish not allowing any tribute to see me coming until it's too late. With the bow I can stay at a distance anyway.

"Hmm, let's see." He puts his finger up to his lips and taps them as if he's thinking, but I know he's about to lecture me or something. "It was dark last night and now it's broad daylight, Slone is injured, and finally, it's an idiotic idea."

"Slone doesn't have to come." I point out. He's not fatally injured but I'm seriously doubting he can use that arm that Eight injured for effective fighting. Anytime he moves it too much or in a weird way he winces. I know he hasn't said anything, but Slone would be better off spending time here.

"Later." Clove agrees with Marvel. "When it's dark you can lead us if you have this 'instinct'." She suggests, giving me a look. We're not as great at communicating nonverbally as Katniss and I are, but we're good enough that I can tell from her words what she's asking me. She wants to know if I can find the trail in the dark. I give her a subtle nod that tells her I can and sigh in frustration.

"Fine." I roll my eyes, indicating to them that I think they're wusses for not taking on a challenge. Wouldn't they actually like to sleep at night for once? If we left now we could find them and be back by midnight or so as long as the tributes I found the trail of weren't too far. I don't put down my bow though, getting another idea. "I'm going to go check the perimeter."

"Why?" Glimmer asks, looking up from where she is now what I can only guess is sunbathing where she's laying down on her back with her shirt pulled up to expose her flat stomach.

"In case someone was watching us put the supplies and mines in place." I come up with as a reason; at least it sounds legitimate enough.

"Oh. I'll come with you." She insists, starting to get up but I shake my head at her.

"No, don't worry about it. It shouldn't take too long." I reply, leaving before she can get up. Luckily no one else questions me and I hope it's because they think it's a good idea, and I make my way to the tree line before disappearing about fifteen feet in.

Checking the perimeter wasn't the real reason I wanted to come out here alone, but I might as well as long as I'm out here just as a precaution. But I don't really think anyone was watching, so I nock an arrow but don't keep the bow up and ready to fire. Instead, I keep it in my hands loosely as I look around for what I really came out here for-berries.

I don't actually need them right now because it's too early, but in the near future I will and it will be beneficial if I already have them ready for me to use. I'm not as good at telling the difference between the berries as my dad let alone any of the Everdeens, but I'm not terrible at it. I'm definitely better than someone who is just learning them, anyway. Assuredly better than someone who wouldn't care to know the difference at all.

It takes about twenty minutes I'd guess of pretend looking for signs of tributes spying before I find a bush that I'm pretty sure is something I can use. It's a blueberry bush, something edible. I'm honestly surprised to find it this near the Cornucopia but who am I to complain? Maybe there's more of them out there in the woods. If that's true then it would mean the other tributes in hiding would probably have food because this is a fairly simple one to tell is edible, but it doesn't matter too much I guess.

I gather some of them and put them in my pocket only to look to the left of them and find two more bushes. One doesn't have any berries on them, but another has a berry that looks quite similar to the blueberries I'm gathering. It would take a trained mind and eye to notice the subtle differences, but luckily I do. These are far from being blueberries-these are nightlock, a berry that will kill you before it hits your stomach.

Smiling, I shake my head at the genius of the Gamemakers. This would certainly trick anyone who was gathering the blueberries into thinking there were two bushes of them, and they'd die from that mistake. No wonder there's a blueberry bush here.

As I finish gathering the blueberries, I go to the nightlock bush and pluck off some of those too. It's not exactly the berry I'm looking for, but it will do if I can't find the one I want.

Moving on, I find myself at the grain fields of the perimeter and quickly try to make my way through here. I'm fairly certain that Thresh is in these fields because it would only make sense for him to be being from District 11 and all, but I'm not planning on going against Thresh for a while so I don't bother to go further in. Eventually I find myself at the woods again and about fifteen minutes later come out of them and back to the group, the berries well hidden in my pockets.

"Nothing?" Havana asks me as soon as she notices I'm back, and I shake my head.

"Nothing." I repeat, "Put something over where the control mine is buried just in case though."

"Okay." Teddy nods and scurries off to do so.

"It's not like it was really necessary anyway." Marvel scoffs, and I glare at him.

"It was just a precaution."

"Like we couldn't take anyone who tried." Marvel snorts, and I feel like he's a bit on a high horse from actually finding tributes earlier.

"Aren't we getting a little cocky?" I suggest, and it's he roll his eyes.

"Well considering I'm the one who found not one but two tributes last night, yeah, I'm alright with being cocky." He points out.

"And yet you didn't kill one." I smile, knowing I can at least kick him off his horse a little. "Why would that be?"

His expression darkens, and for just a second I see the slightest hint of fear cross his eyes. But it disappears so quickly that I could swear I imagined it. "Glimmer and I had a bet and now we're even."

Oh? Well if he's lying I can always ask Glimmer. After last night I think she might tell me the truth. "Glimmer?"

"Sure whatever, Marvel." She shrugs from her place on the ground, not even bothering to open her eyes from her tanning position. But I catch a hint of a smug smile on her face and I know there's more to this story than either of them are telling. It's going to take more pushing to get it out of them, but for now I'll let it slide; I know when to end a losing battle.

Marvel smiles at me when Glimmer takes his side and I shrug, putting the bow down and going into the tent for a small nap before we finally leave. When I get there I find Slone asleep inside so I'm quiet. But I can't just leave these berries in my pockets forever, so I take my chances in taking them out, deciding I'm not going to get a real chance in the near future for a way to get them out and hidden.

I find a small canister that's supposed to be for water that we're not currently using and drop the berries in it, closing the top and hiding it in the crevice between the tent wall and my pillow. Then I take lay down and close my eyes, hoping my mind that's flying twelve different directions doesn't keep me up.

But it becomes clear after a while that my mind isn't going to shut up, and I sit up. Frustrated with myself, I frown at the outside where I can just see the rest of the alliance around the fire talking or eating and my vision corners on Marvel and Glimmer.

I will get their damn information if it's the last thing I do. If they have any sort of plan together to kill me then I'll just have to kill them first.


	19. Intuition

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next -Jonas Salk_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Gale's POV

"You seriously want to stay back?" Clove questions me unbelieving. "Why?"

"It's my turn." I shrug, "I figure even though we have the supplies all fixed up someone should still stay here and guard."

"That's what the kid's for." Clove argues, nodding towards where Teddy is by himself with a spear while the rest of our alliance is lounging around the fire, eating dinner and talking. I honestly didn't know how incredibly boring being in an arena could be. Granted I knew there was what I suppose you could call downtime because I watched more than was mandatory for a long time, but even then I suppose I didn't realize just how long it was. Twenty four seven in this place with no outside contact and you have to kill all of your allies and other tributes to have a hope of living, and yet there are times like this where there's nothing to do. But that doesn't stop me from always being on my game, which is the real reason why I want to stay. It will alleviate some of the boredom anyhow.

"Eh let's give the kid a break for one night. He's done it every night so far and worked constantly on the mines." I suggest, picking up a rock so I can sharpen my knife. Clove sits in front of me and stops my hands from moving, forcing me to look up at her.

"Why do you care about the kid?" she asks me, suspicion heavy in her look. I should have suspected this. Why does this girl have to question every damn thing I do?

Oh right, because she's a damn good tribute.

"I don't." I half lie. To be honest I wouldn't really enjoy killing him if only because he sort of reminds me of my brother, but it wouldn't mean I couldn't. And at some point the kid's going to have to die and I knew that long before I let him into our alliance. I just need to keep my head in the game with him and I'll be fine. "Just being fair."

"You don't play fair." She points out with a frown, an eyebrow raised. "Ever."

"What if I am?" I shrug, pushing her hand away from mine so I can continue sharpening my knife. "There is such a thing as oh, I don't know, at least giving the kid some rest. He's done a lot lately."

"You know we'll have to kill him soon anyway, so what's the point?" she replies, crossing her arms over her knees as she sits with them up against her chest. I really want to sigh in frustration because this isn't working. Okay, Gale, new tactic.

"True." I concede. "Frankly I don't know why you care if I stay back or not. Isn't that a better chance for a tribute you can kill?"

"Not since you're the one who knows where said tribute is with your trail." She smirks, and I glare at her knowing I'm caught. "So give it up; tell me why you want to stay tonight or I'll tell the others all about your freaky secret skills."

Shit I can't have that. Defeated, I decide to tell her half of my plan. The other part she has no business knowing because I can't have her realizing exactly what I want to do-hide supplies for later in the games. "Honestly?" I question and she nods, eager to hear what I want to do, "I don't trust that kid so I was going to rehide the controller."

"Why did you let him in if you didn't trust him?" she questions me, seeming to understand at least why I wanted to stay back. It's true in a way, but not in the way she thinks. I know pretty much expected that I had a plan to let him in, so this will be a great test of my lying skills I suppose.

"I did." I tell her, "When he came to me during training with that plan I honestly didn't think he could actually do it so effectively and if he didn't meet my expectations we could just kill him off."

"Yeah, I guess he did a good job. So…now what, you want to kill him while we're gone or something so he doesn't see it coming?" she asks, giving me a look that tells me no one except Teddy would especially care if they were there for that cannon or not.

"No, not yet." I shake my head, "I made a mistake-I didn't realize how smart he really was so now we have to play a game with him."

"What game?"

"I want to rehide the controller just with him so he trusts me and thinks I don't trust you guys so he won't see it coming. Any one of us can take him out then."

Clove frowns at me again and I can see this isn't really working. What was I thinking telling her that? Pretty stupid of me. "And why would it benefit any of us if he only trusts you?"

Crap. Why would it? Hmm, well let's go for the obvious. "Do you honestly think the kid has the guts to take any of you out anyway?" I rhetorically ask her with a 'be serious' look.

She snorts at that. "I'd like to see him try."

"Exactly. So what does it matter if I stay back or not? None of the others know that it's strange for me to play fair so that excuse will work on them." I round back to what I told her before, hoping even if she doesn't quite trust it she says yes this time.

She gives me a hard look as if she's trying to figure me out, but eventually makes a decision. "I'll let you do it tomorrow and go with it as long as you let me kill the tribute tonight that you found."

Why is she so obsessed with killing the tributes? Oh who am I kidding, of course she is. Stupid question. Even though I don't like it, I'll take it. At least it's something and it only sets my new plans back a day so I'm back to the original one with this added in.

"Fine." I concede and she gives me a smile that would look sweet if I didn't know her better. Beneath that fake sweetness is a cocky bitch and I know it. But that's alright because she thinks she has me under her control. Boy is she wrong.

"Any idea who it is?" she questions me and I give her a half shrug.

"Kind of. It can't be one of the Eleven's for sure. The print was too big to be the little girl and we know Thresh is still probably hiding in those weeds over there, but other than that it could be anyone." I half lie, deciding not to tell her that I'm fairly certain there's actually two tributes. It will make it more believable to the others anyway considering that I have to let her kill one of them but I might as well keep that information from her if it's not necessary for her to know.

"Well I can take on anyone, but that makes it pretty easy." She gives herself a vote of confidence before getting up and gesturing for me to follow as it's getting darker and the fallen tributes will be up soon.

Giving my knife one last scrape on the rock, I get up and place it safely back into my belt loop before following Clove over to where the others have gathered by the fire, still just idly chatting as the sky darkens. When it does, the anthem comes on before the only two kills of today are shown from around dawn this morning, the District 8 pair. Once the anthem plays again the sky goes back to the way it should, dark and silent and we all stand up.

"Alright I have a confession to make." I start out with, all eyes on me and eagerly waiting aside from Clove who just seems disinterested because she already knows what's going on. "You know when I said I didn't find a trail yesterday?"

Nods follow, but before I can say more Marvel interrupts me. "You aren't actually saying you found one, are you?" he asks incredulously and a bit suspiciously.

"I am saying that." I confirm, but apparently that's not going over as I plan. I thought they'd be happy about it, that we have our bearings for tonight. After all, it's only the second night and half of the tributes are already out-why not be satisfied that I found not one but two more tributes for tonight?

"What?"

"You can't be serious!"

"Why didn't you tell us that?"

"You lied?!"

"Why did you let Marvel lead us?"

"Hey, hey wait a minute!" I interrupt them, turning to Glimmer who asked why I let her partner lead us to start with. "I didn't think you guys would actually believe me yesterday. You'd think I was joking."

"I thought you were!" Slone frowns, wincing as he waves his arm to make a point. Hmm that's the one that got cut by the District 8 boy. It must be bothering him because it's more recent than my knife wound in my leg from the bloodbath. Not that it makes much more sense since it was a far more shallow cut than mine. I'll have to watch that. What was I talking about? Oh right, the trail.

"I did lie, but only because I wasn't sure until today." I lie again, deciding if they're going to be mad at me then maybe I can pretend I wasn't sure yesterday. "It was really dark when I found it so instead of checking the perimeter like I said earlier I went back and looked again. It's for sure footprints, about a half hour hike from here."

There, that will cover the berries I picked up too. Better to cover all my traces if I'm going to lie anyway.

"You could have told us that." Clove argues; I don't know if she's covering me or if she actually believes I double checked today, but whatever. I trust her enough to not tell them my secret yet.

"I know. I just didn't want to look like an idiot if I was wrong." I reply, looking to Marvel. "How did you know where you to go?" He can't possibly have picked up on a trail I didn't, could he of? I doubt it, but maybe he'll actually tell me. Maybe it's part of this little secret that he and Glimmer have.

"Intuition." He states, smirking before going to pick up his weapon as a gesture we should leave. The others follow his lead but I just stare at him for a moment. Well that was obviously not what it was-if his smirk didn't tell me that, the answer would have. I mean yeah, intuition exists. I certainly have it, I couldn't really set snares without it and actually catch things. But the way he's implying is that he intuitively found two tributes before they stupidly lit a fire just by…feeling it. Kind of like how my mom can always tell when I've gotten into some sort of trouble the moment I set foot in the house even if I haven't said a word (that happened a lot back when I was thirteen or fourteen, especially when we were messing with the Victors or camping out and drinking illegal alcohol someone bought).

Well screw it, guess I'll figure it out later. Now I have to focus on the hunt. My hunt. If only my partner were here with me.

* * *

Alright, I haven't seen a footprint in at least a quarter mile, but the tributes have to be this way. Where would I go if I was literally running for my life? Anywhere but back to where I came from, that's a stupid question. But I can't tell the others that I'm leading practically blind, so I keep my 'I know what I'm doing' face on until I get some sort of bearings again. Hmm, maybe that's what Marvel did yesterday. It would make more sense than intuition.

And just when I think that I'm going to have to admit that I don't know where to go from here, I sense it-something not in tune with the forest, a place I know well even if these are unfamiliar woods. I hold up my hand for my alliance members who are following me to stop and be quiet just to make sure, and when they do I cock my head to the side.

The breeze is picking up and rustling the leaves, there's a faint sound of running water somewhere nearby, I'd assume a creek of some kind. A bird or two chirps and I can sense knats flying around somewhere, but that's all normal. Usual sounds of the forest. What isn't is the faint sound of someone walking around, actually two people I'd guess just because I'm fairly certain there is two people. I probably wouldn't have been able to hear them if they weren't so loud, so clearly they aren't used to being quiet in a forest like I am. They've got to be at least a little far away if I haven't seen them yet.

Turning to my alliance I'm not even grinning; I'm in complete focus mode, ready for battle. I gesture for them to come closer so that we are in a sort of circle and speak in a barely audible whisper.

"There's two, I can feel it. Not far from here." I say, and Clove looks to me.

"Two?" she questions, surprise on her face. I suppose she was just as shocked as I initially was that there are people actually teaming up that aren't from the same district if she's thought that far, but there isn't time to go into that now. I nod in confirmation.

"So let's split up." I whisper again, deciding to be even quieter and not speak, hoping that they are smart enough to realize that this has to be a surprise attack so they should shut the hell up. I point to myself and Havana for one and the other three for the other, hoping that will satisfy Clove's bargain to me. I don't actually plan on letting Havana doing much of anything other than cornering whoever I take, but she seems over the moon that I chose her to help me. It makes Glimmer frown, but not as much as it would yesterday I'd guess. Great.

They all nod in agreement before the group of Marvel, Glimmer, and Clove (we left Slone behind to guard with Teddy tonight, and he actually didn't seem too mad about it) go off to spread out and Havana follows me, all of us ready to surround and attack the unlucky tributes.

We get close enough that I can see the tributes, and like I suspected it's the District 12 boy and I'm pretty sure just by thinking back even though I don't really recognize him the District 7 boy. Both are sitting against a tree with knives in hand, up and whispering to each other. Perfect, now we just have to keep quiet and surround them and they'll have nowhere left to run or hide.

Well, it would be damn great if everyone thought the way I did, because my plan certainly didn't involve a war cry or loud rushes from the other group which instantly alerts both boys and they are up and running. Well isn't that just damn great. Way to shut the hell up!

Groaning in frustration, I race for the District 12 boy with Havana alongside me and get an idea. The kid's decently fast, but maybe he's not smart enough to know when he's going to be trapped.

"Havana, chase him around back to here. I'll jump him when he gets close enough." I tell her as I stop and run back to their campsite, only pausing enough to see her nod in acquiescence before racing for the boy.

Not wasting time, I find their camp easily and climb the tree they were sitting against to the lowest branch about ten feet up. I idly wonder while I wait in anticipation why the boys didn't climb the tree themselves because it would have been far safer from us or any other tribute that may have wondered by, but maybe neither of them knew how. Well whatever, I'm glad I do.

I'm getting more and more antsy waiting for Havana to chase the kid back this way and wondering why I trusted her with it. I mean she actually is a decent runner but it's going to be difficult to get him to turn around somehow. She'll have to scare him back this way or something. It's not like it's impossible really; animals on the run tend to not really pay attention to the direction they're going as long as it's away from the predator. I use that sometimes with my snares back home. But normally it's some sort of hole in the ground or a rope for them to fall into, not well…me.

But I don't have time to think about that as I crouch down, anticipating from the loud running and breathing that I can here that the tribute is on his way back here. Perfect. It takes a while before I see him about fifty yards away but I'm pretty certain he can't see or realize that I'm up here waiting for him even if he could probably see me if he just looked. But that's exactly what I'm counting on-him not looking.

I just see Havana chasing after him with a spear in hand as if she was going to use it and the District 12 kid looks back to her just when he's by the tree. He doesn't even see me jump him with a knife in hand and collapses to the ground with me half on top of him.

Umph! A sound comes, though I'm pretty sure it was from both of us. Damn, I knew it was going to be dangerous to jump from that tree but I was hoping the kid would break my fall enough that I'd be alright. Well he certainly broke my fall, but not enough clearly since I can already feel bruises forming but I can't think about that now.

The kid cries out and I'm almost certain it's because he's in pain and not because he's shocked he got jumped, so I can only assume I sprained or twisted something on him as he fell. Well that works for me-the more injured he is, the better.

But he doesn't let that stop him from fighting back, and before I know what's happened I'm the one pinned to the ground with his hold on me, looking down. A knife is in one of his fists that's holding down my left arm and he's breathing hard but I can tell in his eyes even under the pain there's a strange mix of satisfaction in taking me down.

Well shit, what am I going to do now? I didn't know he had a knife, but really that's not the problem. It's the fact that somehow this boy from the poorest most pathetic district in all of Panem somehow knows how to wrestle, and he's damn good. Is this what he showed the Gamemakers in order to get an eight as a training score? If I had done that I wouldn't get more than a four probably, but that's because I'm from District 2. They expect more out of me than him.

And yet I'm the one pinned to the ground.

Thinking quick and since apparently Havana's not going to be any help if she's around at all, my legs are free from his grasp since he's just sitting on my stomach and I heave them up, wrapping them around his neck in a move that good old Norman taught me. I remember the first time that Norman did it to me under Jay's tutelage.

"_God, why are you doing this?" I asked with a groan. It was more awkward than anything because really it felt like I was about to have sex with a guy which is ridiculous since I'm about the straightest guy you will ever meet. _

"_Are you going anywhere in that hold?" Jay asks from behind me where I could imagine him smiling at how awkward I feel if he wasn't so damn serious all the time. He was…well less than thrilled that I sort of sucked at hand to hand combat so he's recruited Norman to essentially do as he pleases to me to teach me the moves on the victim side of them. It's only been a few weeks, and one of the most essential things I've learned from that strategy is that while Norman doesn't show that he's having fun beating me up every other day, I can sense that feeling. I'm basically a willing (under the order of Jay) punch bag. _

"_I could try to move to the side." I say just as I do so. I do move to the side, but Norman's legs are still locked around my neck and in the end I feel more trapped than I was originally. Norman gestures for me to go back up to the original position and before I even know what's happened I'm on my back and Norman is now pinning me to the ground with a fake knife at my throat._

_He gets up and I sit back up, almost dazed and suitably impressed that happened before I could even realize it. _

"_How'd you do that?" I question Norman who just smiles. He motions for one of the assistants that's mulling about the room to come and help him and shows me it in slow motion so I can watch this time, explaining it. _

_Basically he uses his elbows to push himself up to get the assistant off balance and then pushes her back onto her back, quickly locking her arms into his knees as he comes and sits on top of her, pinning her in almost the same way he did me._

"_Now if they have a weapon in their hand it's not going much of anywhere. And even if they knew the same move which I doubt they would, you would be in control because they can't move their arms." Norman explains._

Remembering this I quickly push up on my elbows and wince as the knife in his hand nicks me but don't stop, pushing him onto his back and locking his hands between my legs. It's awkward, but the knife has even fallen out of his hand in surprise I'd assume and he stares up at me.

I can sense the defeat in his eyes as well as acceptance as my knife brushes his throat, but before I can do anything he speaks.

"Go ahead. At least I'll die as me and you can be the Career you've always wanted to be." He tells me, and I quirk an eyebrow. Die as himself? Well who else would he die as? And there's the whole nickname for us that volunteer and train for this, the 'Careers'. I guess it's true in a way but it sounds so much worse the way this kid is putting it, as if this is what my whole life is about, killing tributes.

Just because I've trained for it my whole life doesn't mean I have some deep sated desire to kill despite the blood room when I was younger. Something tells me that all these other districts think that though. It's not about the killing for me, it's about the victory. For me, for my family. To…prove that I can make it up to my mother who should have been in an arena years ago and instead got pregnant with me. To make my dad proud that I was worth her giving that dream up.

But this kid doesn't know it-all he knows is that he has less than a minute left to live.

"It's just part of the game." I comment on the last part, shrugging the best I can.

"You volunteered for it." He mentions, seeming incredulous that he's not dead yet.

"Maybe it's not for the reason you think it is." I whisper and he gives me a sad smile.

"I'd hope not, but you're going to kill me anyway so just do it." He gives me permission. I nod and slit his throat as he closes his eyes with the smile still on his face, a deep red one under it on his neck almost complimenting it. I wait for the cannon seconds later before standing up, brushing my hands on my pant legs before picking up the kid's discarded knife and looking back to him, almost looking…peaceful in death.

Strange tribute.

Thinking it's strange that I'm alone and Havana is nowhere to be seen, I go in the direction that I last saw the others go, running when I hear sounds of groaning and disgust.

When I find them, they're alone and Glimmer has blood all over her. It takes me a second to realize it's from her own body and not the tributes because Clove somehow allowed her to take on the tribute.

"What happened?" I ask, knowing I haven't heard another cannon yet so their tribute can't be dead.

"He got away." Marvel mutters, glaring at the two girls. "_Someone_ got mad that Glimmer tried to kill him."

Wait…is he saying that Clove is the reason that Glimmer is covered in blood? "Clove?"

She looks down and mutter something before crossing her arms over her chest. "I called dibs and she tried anyway so I…nicked her."

Well looking at Glimmer it seems like a lot more than a nick to me, but Clove's got a nice little fresh bruise that's deepening in color on her cheek so I can assume that Glimmer fought back. I'd laugh or roll my eyes at them if I wasn't so pissed.

"Why didn't you kill him then?" I turn to Marvel who gets defensive.

"Hey, I was trying not to let them kill each other!" he declares and I groan. I can't believe they let him get away. There were three of them for god's sake and the tribute wasn't even someone who trained! Do I have to do everything myself around here?

"Fine." I mutter, still unhappy, "Did you at least injure him?"

"I think I did." Glimmer comments, "It was dark but I took his ax and threw it at him. He cried out so I guess I got him somewhere before _someone_ decided to attack me." She glares at Clove who glares right back at her.

Maybe I won't have to kill either of them in the end. I have a feeling they might very well kill each other before I'd even have the opportunity. It's not my plan, but it's certainly not one I would particularly mind changing.

"Well fine, guess we're done for tonight." I decide, looking around for Havana. "Where's Havana?"

"Right here." a voice comes from the bushes as she comes out of them. She looks a little worse for wear too but I can't tell why.

"What happened to you?" I ask, looking her up and down. It's too dark for me to really see her even with my flashlight but I can tell she's got some sort of redness on her skin.

"After I led that tribute to you I was going to stop and help but some crazy hawk mutt started following me and I had to run. I ended up tripping into a patch of poison ivy." She informs us, and I groan. Apparently this is not our night as an alliance. Fantastic. Should have seen it coming that things would not go according to plan.

And something tells me that our night of hell isn't over. I just get this feeling something else will go wrong.

And when we get back to camp, I know I was right in that feeling. You know what? Intuition sucks sometimes.


	20. Mercy

**The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute**

_We shall show mercy, but we will not ask for it. -Winston Churchill_

**:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:**

Katniss's POV

I'm only sixteen years old and I think I suffered a heart attack. It's stupid really-I know Gale could take that Peeta kid even with his eight in training, and yet I couldn't breathe when Gale was pinned to the ground by him. For what could have only been maybe twenty seconds if that I swear I saw his life flash before my eyes, our friendship over all these years and training, hunting, all of it. How for just one second I thought he was going to die.

And then it was over, and I could breathe again. Gale had him pinned from a move I know he learned in training because he excitedly tried it on Rory the next day, talked to him (for whatever reason I don't know, but the kid was confusing enough), and slit his throat. I'm sure playing with him first in a torturously slow death would have been what Clove would have given the Twelve kid had she been the one pinning him, but not Gale. Despite all the training and the lust for blood that the blood room is supposed to accomplish here in District 2, not everyone takes to it as well as others. Gale isn't one of them, and neither am I. We hunt enough for food and just to hone our skills that it has never really affected us as much. It might just be because we're used to it, but I don't really know. Besides, the Games aren't really about being cruel; it's about the show, and of course, victory.

I should have been embarrassed that I didn't have faith in Gale for that short amount of time, but from the tension in the air without even looking around I could tell I wasn't the only one. Even my mother looked relieved as she focused on her mending socks though she pretends she doesn't care. Actually…she doesn't care about the Games, but she does care about Gale. She's known him even longer than I have, and that's saying something. In fact, in the crammed living room of the Hawthornes all but Posy seemed to be relieved, and I think that's only because Posy is so young that she might not realize that this isn't just training yet. I almost envy her innocence, because I sure wish I could not be so obsessive over it at times. It's become a problem.

And yet that problem doesn't stop me from doing exactly what I've done since Gale left at night-watching television, making notes, pouring over the notes I already have. Crossing out yet another name is a good thing as the red marker takes District 12 out for good in these Games, but it's not the only thing I have to do for tributes. Though Clove and Glimmer's fight was amusing and the commenters got a kick out of it, I can't help but be annoyed that they let the District 7 boy get away. Marvel too. I don't care if he's gay and likes boys, it's weird that he would volunteer for the Hunger Games if he didn't plan on killing half the tributes. It will be the death of him, I'll call that now.

And even as I write down the injury Glimmer managed to give the boy, which seems to consist of several scratches and bruises from running from her and the cherry on top, a lack of three and a half fingers on one hand from the ax, I can't help feeling it wasn't enough. The boy didn't have the best training score and if he doesn't get that wound treated soon it's going to start infecting everything else, but he's proven aside from being idiotic in talking so loud with that Peeta kid that he's decently resourceful. He ran practically blind through the forest, he only got away because the alliance was stupid enough to fight each other, and yet he could still climb a freaking tree so he could get the high ground. I'm more impressed that he did it basically with one hand than the fact that he did it at all. District Seven. The tree district. He could probably climb the tree with no hands for all I know.

The only thing that might have killed him is if the blood from his injury marked the tree somehow when the pack comes back for him. I can't tell in the dark, but the alliance is currently walking away from him so I guess he's alright for the rest of the night. Slone, however, is not.

The cameras catch us up at home before Gale and the rest make it back to camp, showing us how the fifteen year old boy is laying down gasping in pain near the fire. Teddy, the District 3 boy, is supposed to be guarding as well (though I suspect that Slone was supposed to be guarding him more than the camp), but he's on the ground trying to help Slone instead. Slone's whimpering is enough to make me want to turn the television off because I really don't like to watch people in pain…or be around blood in general, but my curiosity overrides that just enough that I stay where I am and listen intently to the commenters.

"Well I don't know how much longer he's going to last, Vesuvius. That poison is from one of the fish in the creek that the District Eight pair found. We both watched Rayon cut up the fish for their supper with that knife." The commenter Bulla says to her partner.

"You're right. We have an expert in the field of mutts and animals here with us now to explain to us and the viewers just what we're seeing right now and why. Dr. Umber Hullen, Department of Animology for the Hunger Games." Vesuvius introduced a bald man save for two striped of hair died a forest green and beady eyes that I think intentionally look like some animal's from the forest. He's even dressed in what I think might be fox skin. Something tells me he takes his job very seriously, or he wants people to think that.

"Yes thank you." The doctor mumbles out as he fiddles with some kind of papers that he's trying to organize. Eventually he gets the remote for the screen behind him and shows us a picture of a forest with a creek, of which I can only assume is the one in the arena that the commenters were talking about. On the screen a fish appears in front of it, large enough to take up most of the screen. As Dr. Hullen explains, he points to it on different parts of the fish. "You see, this fish is not a fish at all, but a mutt. It has poison sacks here and here, but they don't appear to be. The poison is enough to kill the prey of the fish almost instantly, but anything large enough to eat it would take longer to kill them. So in fact if the Alliance from Districts One through Four did not come across the District Eight pair when they did, both would have died from eating the poison within a day."

"So why is Slone dying then?" Vesuvius asks stupidly. I know it's his job, but it's pretty much common sense to figure it out. If you would die within a day of eating the fish from the poison, the poison on the knife got into his cut.

"It takes longer if it isn't digested, but the cut from the poisoned knife has quickly infected our District Four tribute even with it being treated. I do believe it will be fatal unless of course his arm is amputated, but even then it may be too late." Dr. Hullen explains.

Amputated arm? My face scrunched up in disgust at even the thought of that. I know my mother has amputated a foot before, some freak accident in the stone masonry where the man's foot was all broken and scratched up. But I wasn't there for that in the hospital, and I've seen him in the black market under Joey's from time to time with a crutch. He lived even though he's crippled. But I have to remind myself that Slone wasn't going to live anyway, and ending his pain permanently would be a mercy at this point. He looks in agony no matter what Teddy tries to do to sooth him. Forget the amputation and just kill the poor boy already. It may be the Hunger Games, but even that isn't worth seeing though I'm sure most of my fellow trainees are eating it up.

A nudge on my shoulder is the next thing I feel, and it startles me. I open my eyes to find a bright sun streaming through the window from the east and curse under my breath. Dang it, I must have fallen asleep again! I seriously need to stop doing that.

I'm surprised to find that it's my father who wakes me up and not Prim or my mother, if only because he was working the night shift last night. I thought he'd be sleeping already because that's what normally happens when he gets home at dawn on those shifts. "Hey, Dad."

"You know you're bed is there for a reason." He jokes tiredly, giving me a half smile that tells me he knows exactly why I'm not in it. Not that it would have been hard to guess seeing as I probably left the television on and my notes have scattered all over the floor and the coffee table in front of me.

"My bed can wait a few weeks." I comment, and sit up to rub my eyes. I look at the clock and find that it's just after seven in the morning, which means I have about fifteen extra minutes before I would have had to be up for school. The television is still on which means either Dad just walked in or he's been sitting here watching it. "Did you just get home?" He shakes his head, giving me a rueful look.

"You have quite the extensive notes this year." He states, and it takes me a second before I realize what he's saying.

"You read them?!" I half gasp, somewhat annoyed. It's not really that big of a deal that he read them, but I added some of the stuff that I found out from Cato that I really shouldn't know. Some of it's going to take a lot of explaining, especially if he read it carefully. There's no legal way I should know some of the things I do.

"I just glanced at most of it." He assures me, but gives me a little smile. As if he thinks it's cute that there extensive this year of all years. I'm certainly not amused.

"They're interesting this year." I answer, even though we both know that's not really it. He knows exactly why they are more interesting, but neither of us is going to say as much. I can't bring myself to speak about Gale in the Games, especially after all my awkward talks with Hazelle about it. Its better just left unsaid, because then I don't have to hear about all my reactions that people take the wrong way.

"They sure are." He nods, and thankfully takes the comment a different direction than was meant. "Slone is finally out of his misery."

"Really? When?" I ask, glancing at the television. It's showing the little girl from Eleven right now, hopping from tree to tree. I swear that girl is part squirrel, but I can think about that later.

"Just a few hours ago." He informs me, "Havana didn't want him to, but she knew the poison would spread if they didn't try. So Slone made her take one of the swords and hack off his arm."

Amputation. Guess they are smart about it. "How did that put him out of his misery?" I question him, confused. Seems to me losing an arm would only make the pain worse.

"It was just a ruse." He tells me, sighing. "Havana seemed to know that it wasn't really his arm he wanted off, but his head."

My eyes go wide at the thought. "So she really killed him."

Dad nods. "She was crying as she did it, but she knew it was what he wanted. Slone made her do it in the middle of the night so the others wouldn't know it."

I can imagine why she was crying, I suppose. They seemed to be friends even before the arena to me, though I'm not quite sure. It's horrible that she had to do it in any case. Normally killing your district partner is an unspoken anathema even though there technically aren't really any rules against it, but this seems an exception to me. It was a mercy kill.

"Won't they figure it out?" I ask, because I think they might. Especially if Havana's eyes are still red from crying. They might think her weak for crying, but maybe not as weak as she could have been seen as. I think Gale might figure it out in any case. It's probably what he would do.

"Probably." Dad guesses, and pats my leg. "Well you better get ready for school."

"Alright." I agree and get up.

"Katniss, just one thing." He asks as he follows me to the hall with the bedrooms where I'm guessing he's finally going to sleep.

"Yeah?"

"Sleep in your bed tonight. Gale isn't likely to die in the middle of the night even when hunting tributes." He replies, cutting to my worst fear. Well so much for not talking about it.

"I know." I mumble, trying to get away. Because I think Gale could do exactly that, just so we wouldn't have to see it in the daylight here. But if I think in any way that he might not win, I just might go crazy. It's the real reason why I don't like talking about it, because I don't even want to think about it. Doubts aren't going to help my sense of relative peace at this time.

Well…peace probably isn't the correct term. At school people are still all over me asking questions and begging for answers, of which most I don't have. I really want to just shout to the to go ask Cato, but that would be a bad idea. Not only would Cato get in trouble if almost anyone else found out his stupid little secret, but I would too for not telling anyone about it. I know the price for letting SIM secrets get out, and it's not pretty. It's the main reason why I never, _ever_ venture into my dad's office in the basement even when I'm curious.

"Katniss?" a voice calls to me as the final bell rings for school, and I look up to find a burly looking boy staring down at me with a few kids behind him. I don't know him well, but he and his pack of friends are some of the ones that are luckily indifferent to those of us that train. I'm honestly surprised he wasn't one of the ones chosen when we were younger to train, but I'm pretty sure he was a shrimp of a kid back then. Certainly not now, towering over me and stocky to boot.

"Yeah?" I ask tentatively as I gather my notebook that I didn't really take notes in for class and put it in my backpack, knowing I don't have much time before I have to get to the Academy to watch more of the Games. Luckily not much happened last time I watched it at lunch for the midday update. Just a bunch of laying around and walking by the tributes, though I did note that surprisingly enough Havana managed to tell them that Slone must have crawled off in the middle of the night and died, which was the cannon they heard in the middle of the night while she was guarding. He had told her that he was just going to the bathroom she said, and never came back. She's a pretty good liar, because even Gale seems to believe her story. Just as well-we know the truth and it's really not that bad.

What has really annoyed me since is that she went to him for comfort, which bugs me more than I'd like to admit. The only good thing out of it is that I'm pretty sure it vexes Glimmer even more, which is fine by me. She needs to get off of Gale, and the sooner, the better. I'm not sure how much longer I can stand that. If only she was the one with the poisoned wound and died!

"We have a bet going, and would like your opinion since you know our cunning friend best." He starts out, and I'm already dreading it. Why did I bother answering him? "Which girl would he rather fuck? Glimmer's pretty hot, but with Havana all weepy and needy because her pathetic partner died she might have a chance."

Suddenly a red rage takes over me just at the asinine thought that they are making a _bet_ over this, and I stand up and punch the boy in the stomach, not caring that despite all my training the four boys could probably pulverize me into the desk if they wanted to. He grunts and the other boys look half appalled and half raged, but I don't care. I pick up my bag and glare at the boy I punched, frowning. "Believe me, a punch was mercy. Bets like that are pathetic and if anyone ever asks me again they'll get worse."

One of the boys behinds him starts protesting, but another cuts him off. "Well so much for that. Should have known it would piss her off to ask who her boyfriend is fucking." He declares, and I turn my shocked stare to him.

"He's _not_ my boyfriend!" I insist because it's true, and the punched boy rolls his eyes.

"She's right, he's not." He tells the others behind him, and they look at him strange before he turns back to me. "But I know who is."

"I don't have one." I inform them and leave the room, but before I get out I hear the boy tell his friends something I didn't want to hear.

"Maybe she doesn't, but she's spent an awful lot of time in Victor's Village lately." He tells them, and I freeze just outside the door of the classroom to listen. Who saw me in Victor's Village? And it wasn't that much time. But who told him?

"How would you know that?" one of the other boys question him, and even without seeing it I can tell he's smirking.

"My cousin told me, the one that lives in town. Said she's been to the Evans's place a few times since the Games started."

"Cato Evans?" one of the boys snorts. "Well she must be getting something out of that. Maybe she thinks fucking a Victor's grandson will help her when Hawthorne dies."

Suddenly this conversation is too much for me, even eavesdropping on it. I practically race out the door of the school and to the Academy, wishing that I never did anything with Cato at all. Why did I have to get involved with him? Nothing has happened! Well…not really anyway. It isn't what people think. But if this is what people think is happening then I have a problem.

Normally I wouldn't care what people think. I never have, but all their…implications and assumptions are hitting me in a way that things never have. Maybe because it's true in a way what they're saying, but I'd _never_ sleep with Cato, not even if he gave me the best information in the world.

"What's wrong with you?" a voice asks me and I curse in my mind. Speak of the devil.

"Nothing." I mutter, trying to get past him but he stops me.

"Gale's fine. A bruised rib never stopped half the Victors before. Remember that guy from Eleven who was forced to hack off his own hand to escape those vines and still got the Victor Crown?" He predicts. I honestly think he means to make me feel better about Gale's injury from struggling with Peeta (along with some minor bruising and scratches other than that), and that surprises me. But no matter how…nice Cato is being, after that gossip from the boys earlier it's just whip cream on top of the pie that is the horribleness of this week for me.

"Stop." I insist, pulling my arm away from him. He looks surprised and almost wounded by it.

"I was just trying to help." He insists, and I know he's telling the truth. He can't figure out why I care so much. "Is it because we're here and others can see us? I can just pretend I'm being an ass if that makes you feel better."

"No." I tell him, even though it is part of it. And he's always an ass so that's not really going to help. Well…until this moment anyway. "If you want to help, stay away from me."

"Then how will you find out anything?" he questions me, and I glare at him.

"The way normal people do." I inform him before walking towards the classroom. Guessing. Strategizing. Whatever. I'm done with Cato and his stupid hacking skills, his stupid house in Victor's Village, and all the stupid gossip about it. I can't go again and give in on that deal.

When I get there and in relief I find that Cato hasn't followed me yet, I relax a little and find my seat next to Rumi. We're in the theater to watch the Hunger Games today because it's our turn (we switch off between groups of six to ten, eleven to fourteen, and fifteen and up) of which I'm grateful because it means that we will be in the dark, and thankfully far away from Cato Evans as he has other people to sit with and annoy. Normally we don't really speak, but Rumi seems like she wants to say something today so I give in. What's one more person talking to me today that I don't normally do?

"What's up?" I ask her, and she almost looks embarrassed to be called out. But that doesn't stop her from telling me what she wants to.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but the other day I heard what you and Cato were talking about." She admits, and my heart sinks to my stomach. Oh gosh, this out to be good.

"Oh yeah?"

"You… go over to his house?" she asks me, and I groan inside.

"It's not what you think it is." I start off, and she gives me a small smile.

"I figured not. Who wouldn't think you would have something going on normally?" she laughs softly.

"You don't though?" I question her, relieved but partly astonished. It's what I would think. It's certainly what those boys thought at school.

"No. Who would think you'd do that even with Gale gone?" she comments, and suddenly I know what she's saying. Her too?

"I'm not dating Gale." I groan in frustration. Why must everyone think that? Just because we're together a lot and we're best friends and…just because he asked me if I'd kiss him when he got back…

Well, we're not dating. It's true. Though I half wish it was because it's certainly better than people thinking I'm dating Cato. Or would that be worse? Then people would think I'm cheating on him because I don't think Gale will win. That I just want to date a Victor…or close enough to one.

Why do I care so much? That should be the real question.

"I know." Rumi insists, though she doesn't look quite convinced. Well, nothing I can say else will prove otherwise I guess, so I let it go for now.

"Cato just helped me get some information for my notes." I tell her in the end.

"Was?" she catches, and I nod. What's one person knowing the truth? "Not anymore?"

"Not anymore." I confirm. I can't do it anymore, not with Cato's price. You'd think it wouldn't be that big of a deal but it feels so wrong to me. "I won't meet his price."

"Well it can't be money, because he's certainly got enough of that." Rumi, always wiser than I think picks up on.

"Not money." I agree, and she picks up the real price well enough.

"Boys will be boys." She rolls her eyes, and I snort.

"True." I agree. "I just wish I could sometimes, because I probably need something he has."

She makes a noise in agreement, but doesn't talk anymore because the screen comes on and shows the alliance in their camp, and we watch them in a riveting game of who can make the best chicken over the fire. I never knew that the arena could be so boring. Why don't they do something?

"I'll do it." Rumi almost whispers, so low that I think I imagined it until I look over and find her staring at me. I cock my eyebrow in confusion. Do what? "I'll help you with Cato."

My eyes go wide at the thought. Why would she do that? "You know the price is…physical. Not sex or anything though." It wounds me to even say it aloud, but she has to know what she wants to get into.

"Yes. I'll tell you everything he tells me." She whispers, and I glance over her still confused. Why would she help me with this?

"Why?" I ask, and suddenly she goes a nice red that even I can tell is embarrassment in the dim lighting. Then my eyes go wide. She actually _likes_ Cato?! As in likes, likes?

She's absolutely insane, but who am I to turn down this kind of offer? If she gets any sort of pleasure out of the price, then good for her. And I won't have to do anything for the information. Sounds like a win win to me.

I nod and give her a smile in thanks and then go back to watching the screen, feeling a little lighter. Who knew that I actually had a real friend in Rumi?


End file.
